Abstract: A novel surface imprinting material was synthesized using a template immobilized on a modified Silica gel matrix where naphthyl acetic acid was grafted to aminopropyl Silica. The Silica template conjugate was co-polymerized with a functional monomer (methacrylic acid) and cross-linker (ethylene glycol dimethacrylate), and then the Silica-polymer composites were treated with an aqueous NH4HF2 solution to dissolve the Silica matrix. FT-IR spectrum and scanning electron microscope (SEM) were adopted for the characterization of the surface and structure of the molecularly imprinted polymer, also, the specific surface area of molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) were studied. The binding energy of imprinted molecule with functional monomer was calculated by using the density functional theory (DFT) method, and the largest binding energy could be chosen for the synthesis of MIP. Competitive rebinding test was carried out in seawater media, and the selective adsorptions of target molecule on MIP were studied. The resulting polymer was found as specific affinity toward naphthalene and phenanthrene. The reason for the higher sensitivity to phenanthrene owe to the size of the carboxyl group, where the imprint molecule was larger than naphthalene. It is was possible to preconcentrate the structural analogues of naphthalene from seawater by using the analog-imprinted polymer in the future
Template and target information: 1-Naphthylacetic acid, naphthalene, phenanthrene
Author keywords: Surface molecular imprinting technique, naphthalene, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, 1-Naphthylacetic acid