Membrane Emulsification Process as a Method for Obtaining Molecularly Imprinted Polymers

The membrane emulsification process (ME) using a metallic membrane was the first stage for preparing a spherical and monodisperse thermoresponsive molecularly imprinted polymer (TSMIP). In the second step of the preparation, after the ME process, the emulsion of monomers was then polymerized. Additionally, the synthesized TSMIP was fabricated using as a functional monomer N-isopropylacrylamide, which is thermosensitive. This special type of polymer was obtained for the recognition and determination of trace bisphenol A (BPA) in aqueous media. Two types of molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) were synthesized using amounts of BPA of 5 wt.% (MIP-2) and 7 wt.% (MIP-1) in the reaction mixtures. Additionally, a non-imprinted polymer (NIP) was also synthesized. Polymer MIP-2 showed thermocontrolled recognition for imprinted molecules and a higher binding capacity than its corresponding non-imprinted polymer and higher than other molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP-1). The best condition for the sorption process was at a temperature of 35 °C, that is, at a temperature close to the phase transition value for poly(N-isopropylacrylamide). Under these conditions, the highest levels of BPA removal from water were achieved and the highest adsorption capacity of MIP-2 was about 0.5 mmol g⁻¹ (about 114.1 mg g⁻¹) and was approximately 20% higher than for MIP-1 and NIP. It was also observed that during the kinetic studies, under these temperature conditions, MIP-2 sorbed BPA faster and with greater efficiency than its non-imprinted analogue.