Selective removal of mercury from aqueous solutions using thiolated cross-linked polyethylenimine

A successful approach to develop an insoluble form of polyethylenimine with a thiol-based functional group for selective removal of Hg(II) from aqueous solutions is reported. The selectivity of the modified polymer for Hg(II) as well as its ability to be regenerated for re-use has been studied. The synthesised polymer exhibited high selectivity for Hg(II) with high removal efficiency of up to 97 %, even in the presence of competing ions. The Freundlich isotherm was found to best fit and describe the experimental data. The pseudo-second-order equation explains the adsorption kinetics most effectively implying chemisorption. The thermodynamic study of the adsorption process revealed high activation energies >41 kJ mol −1 , further confirming chemisorption as the mechanism of interaction between mercury ions and the polymer surface. The polymer exhibited good potential for re-use after many cycles of regeneration, giving good removal efficiency up to the fifth cycle.