Abstract
A method was developed for immobilization of inorganic adsorbents in porous polymeric materials. Activated carbon and hydrotalcite were used as the adsorbents and the polymer used was poly(m-phenylene isophthalamide) (PmIA). In this method, adsorbents were covered with starch and then mixed with the homogeneous polymer solution. The water insoluble mixture was added dropwise to water to induce the phase separation of the polymer solution. After phase separation, porous structures were formed in the particle. Finally, the porous particles were immersed in hot water to extract the starch. By using this method, effective cavities were formed around the inorganic adsorbents. These cavities were very important in obtaining useful adsorption on the inorganic adsorbents in the polymer materials. The adsorption of methylene blue and phosphate on activated carbon and hydrotalcite in the polymer materials was investigated. The particles with cavities around the adsorbents showed better adsorption performances. In addition, porous fibers containing activated carbon were prepared by this starch extraction process. The high adsorption properties of such fibers were also confirmed.
