Fabrication and evaluation of hollow surface molecularly imprinted polymer for rapid and selective adsorption of dibenzothiophene

Rapid and selective recognition and adsorption of dibenzothiophene (DBT) was obtained by a novel hollow surface molecular imprinted polymer (SMIP/HCMS), prepared using α-methacrylic acid (MAA) as the functional monomer and porous magnetic carbon microspheres (p-Fe3O4@C) as the sacrificial support matrix. Some key preparation conditions were systematically optimized. SMIP/HCMS was examined by the characterization of X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, N2 adsorption-desorption isotherms, and thermogravimetric analysis. The adsorption kinetics, adsorption isotherms, selective recognition, and regenerative performance of SMIP/HCMS were also evaluated in detail. The adsorption capacity of SMIP/HCMS for DBT reached 62.06 mg g−1 after 80 min, in comparison with 30.12 mg g−1 of the corresponding non-imprinted polymer and 24.85 mg g−1 of SMIP/p-Fe3O4@C. In addition, the adsorption kinetics and isotherm data of DBT could be well fitted with the pseudo-first-order kinetic model and Langmuir isotherm, respectively. Competitive adsorption experiments demonstrated that SMIP/HCMS possessed a greater affinity towards DBT than other analogue molecules. Finally, SMIP/HCMS could be used eight times without significant loss in the adsorption capacity. This work indicated the potentiality of SMIP/HCMS, combining using p-Fe3O4@C as the support matrix with the hollow surface molecular imprinting technology, in the selective removal of DBT from the oil.