Sorption of acidic dyes from water by poly(Vinyl imidazole) grafted onto poly(styrene) based beads

In the first stage of this study, poly (vinyl benzyl chloride-co-ethylene glycol dimethacrylate [EGDMA]) (10%) (PVBC) resin was prepared by suspension polymerization method using toluene as porogen, poly(vinyl alcohol) as stabilizator and AIBN as initiator. Then, poly (vinyl imidazole) (PVI) was grafted on the PVBC resin with a particle size of 200–400 µm through the 2-chloromethyl group to obtain core-shell type resin by using reverse atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) method. Grafting degree reached to about 57% and the PVI-grafted resin has been shown to be effectively used to remove dye even at ppm levels. The adsorption behavior of the PVI-grafted resin was investigated using Freundlich, Langmuir, Flory–Huggins and Dubinin–Radushkevich isotherms models. To observe trace dye sorption characteristic of the resin, kinetic models were applied.