Acrylonitrile Adducts: An Efficient Adsorbent Media for Removal of Iron from Water

Present study establishes a series of acrylonitrile adducts as an effective adsorption media for removal of ferrous ion from water. Adduct synthesis was carried out following aza-Michael addition reaction between primary aliphatic amines and acrylonitrile under mild conditions. The synthesized products were characterised by FT-IR, ESI-MS and H-1 NMR spectroscopy and the particle size was analysed by DLS measurements. Adsorption isotherm study of the adducts showed prominent results. The positively charged iron ion interacts with negatively charged acrylonitrile adducts and forms a bulky structure which precipitates out from water. The most interesting feature of these compounds is its electron rich property which facilitates effective interaction with the positively charged iron ions present in water and thus imparting high adsorption capacity. Batch experiments were performed to figure out the best adsorption conditions. These studies were used to investigate the effects of various viable characteristics such as initial metal ion concentration, pH and contact time. The adsorption isotherm was well fitted by Langmuir model. The maximum adsorption capacity of acrylonitrile adducts for iron was recorded as 22.65 mg/g.

Automated summary

This study establishes a series of acrylonitrile adducts as an effective adsorption media for the removal of ferrous ions from water. The adducts have an electron-rich property that enables effective interaction with the positively charged iron ions in water, resulting in high adsorption capacity.