Structural-property relationship in poly(vinyl aniline-co-maleic anhydride) for effective Hg2+ions adsorption

Suitable functional modification of a polymer significantly influences its targeted applicability. Herein, we report new crosslinked copolymer synthesized from 4-vinylaniline (VA) and maleic anhydride MA) using adipic acid (AA) as the crosslinking agent, poly(VA-co-MA)-cl-AA where -co- stands for copolymer and -cl- for crosslinked. The poly(MA) component of as-synthesized copolymer was further hydrolyzed to form a new copolymer with pendant carboxyl groups. Both the copolymers, the as-synthesized and its hydrolyzed derivative, were evaluated as Hg2+ ions adsorbents. The adsorption capacity (q) was studied by variation of various adsorption parameters. The copolymer exhibited excellent Hg2+ ions adsorption (qmax = 202.43 mg g-1) with high cumulative q value (1151.3 mg g-1) in multiple cycles. The present work reveals important aspects of simple structural and functional modification of polymers achieved through simple polymer analogous reactions significantly influence their targeted applications. The findings documented in this report indicate the existence of crucial structureactivity relationship in polymer action and can be handy in designing more selective and efficient materials in future.