Preparation and optimization of thorium selective ion imprinted nonwoven fabric grafted with poly(2-dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate) by electron beam irradiation technique

2-dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate (DMAEMA) was grafted onto PP/PE non-woven fabrics (NWF) using preradiation graft polymerization technique and subsequent mutual radiation crosslinking with divinylbenzene (DVB). The ion-imprinted polymer (IIP) was synthesized by DVB crosslinking with DMAEMA and thorium complex through radiation. Non-imprinted polymer (NIP) was prepared with the same conditions but utilizing pure DMAEMA instead of DMAEMA-Thorium complex. The NWF, DMAEMA-grafted-NWF, IIP and NIP were characterized with Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM), Fourier Transformed Infrared Spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), Thermogravimetric Analyzer (TGA), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and X-ray Diffraction (XRD). The grafting process parameters were optimized prior to radiation crosslinking with DVB. The effects of DMAEMA concentration and reaction temperature as a function of different irradiation doses were investigated in order to attain optimal grafting conditions. The effects of DVB concentration, process temperature and radiation dosage on the degree of crosslinking were examined. In addition, the effects of crosslinking percentage, initial thorium concentration and concentration of imprinted thorium to the selectivity of IIP and NIP were also determined. The thorium selectivity of both IIP and NIP was measured using batch mixed ions system by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) analysis. Instead of simultaneous grafting and crosslinking process in bulk along with imprint template, this current study conciliates all grafting, imprint template and crosslinking process independently. Thus, the originality of the research is attributed to individuality grafting and crosslinking technique using ion beam irradiation to obtain IIP of high thorium selectivity without compromising the chemical and physical properties of the adsorbent.