Synthesis of Polyvinyltetrazole Resin by Combination of RAFT Polymerization and Click Chemistry for Adsorption of Hg(II)

The combination of reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization and Click Chemistry was employed as a new approach to synthesize polyvinyltetrazole resin from acrylonitrile. The chemical composition and structure of the polyvinyltetrazole resin was studied by Fourier-transform infrared spectrometry and UV-Vis spectroscopies. Elemental analysis indicated the higher tetrazole content of the polyvinytetrazole resin. The polyvinyltetrazole resin exhibited excellent adsorption for metal ions and the maximum adsorption capacity for Hg(II) was 5.79 mmol/g. The resin could be reused stably in the adsorption of heavy metal ions.