Investigation into the Preparation and Adsorption Capacity of Nanopolymer Particles Utilizing 4,4'-Biphenyldicarboxaldehyde

Abstract Nanometer polymer microspheres have unique physical and chemical properties that make them valuable functional materials for various applications, such as photonic crystal engineering, wastewater treatment, catalysis, environmental protection, sensor technology, drug delivery systems, and smart biomimetic materials. These versatile microspheres have great potential for further development. With the development of novel polymerization techniques, different types of nanometer polymer microspheres have been synthesized and more and more attention has been paid to their potential applications. In this study, nanometer polymer microspheres containing biphenyl formaldehyde were synthesized by Schiff base reaction. We used Tri(4-aminophenyl)amine and 4,4'-biphenyldicarboxaldehyde as reactants, a mixture of 1 : 4 DMF and ethanol as solvent, glacial acetic acid as catalyst, and reflux heating to obtain nanometer-polymer microspheres. We also evaluated the adsorption performance of these microspheres using methyl orange as a simulated pollutant. We conducted a single factor experiment to investigate the effects of different ratios, dosages, times, and temperatures on adsorption efficiency. We characterized the nanometer-polymer microspheres by XRD, IR, and SEM techniques to examine their size, morphology, and structure. Experimental results showed that the optimal ratio for nanometer-polymer microspheres was 1 : 2, with an optimal dose of 25 mg. The optimal adsorption conditions were a temperature of 30°C and a time of 60 min. Since the pH of the solution ranged from 3 to 8, the zeta potentials of microspheres had a negative value. Meanwhile, zeta potentials became more negative as pH increased. The adsorption equilibrium data fit well with the Freundlich model. The microspheres had a stable and uniform rigid structure and good regeneration performance, with regeneration efficiency higher than 80% after five adsorption-desorption cycles.