Surface-imprinted polymer microspheres for rapid and selective adsorption of As(V) ions from the aqueous phase

The As(V) ion surface imprinted polymer (S-IIP) was successfully synthesized on the surface of nano-SiO2 by sol-gel method. The results showed that S-IIP had been successfully synthesized with good morphology and excellent adsorption performance. Under pH = 3.0 and 25 °C, the adsorption process can reach equilibrium within 10 min, and the saturated adsorption capacity can be 39.5 mg/g with the imprinting factor of 1.3. In addition, S-IIP displayed an impressive adsorption selectivity for As(V) ions and admirable regeneration performance, and the adsorption capacity of S-IIP can maintain 75.0% of the first cycle after 4 adsorption-desorption cycles. In actual water samples, S-IIP can adsorb approximately 84.45%–100.33% of As(V) with relative standard deviation (RSD) of 1.50%–7.19%, and the limit of detection (LOD) can be as low as 0.26 μg·L–1 during the range of 5–100 μg·L–1. This work provides a prospect for the enrichment and trace detection of As (V) in aqueous environment. [Display omitted] •Synthesis of As(V) anion surface imprinted polymer (S-IIP) microspheres on nano-SiO2 surface by Sol-Gel method.•S-IIP showed fast adsorption equilibrium time of 10 min.•S-IIP possessed good ion adsorptive property, regeneration stability and selectivity in real complex aqueous matrix.