(630w) Chelation of Iron and Nickel Metal Ions From Aqueous Solutions Using Poly(aminoamide) Dendrimers

In this study, removal of different Fe and Ni metal ion
concentrations from contaminated water was achieved by using fourth generation
poly-aminoamide (PAMAM) dendrimer with terminal hydroxyl groups (G4-OH) in
aqueous solution. Dendrimers are well defined and highly branched polymers with
controllable architecture that consist of a core, interior and terminal branch
units, and they can be used as a nanoscale container
for toxic metals ions in aqueous solution. The chelation process between Fe⁽⁺³⁾ and Ni⁽²⁺⁾ metals
ions and the internal tertiary amine groups of the dendrimers was monitored
visually and recorded using digital imaging. To quantify the results, time
resolved UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy was used. Transmission Electron
Microscopy and X-ray absorption spectroscopy were used to measure the size and
distribution of the zerovalent metals after reduction
of the coordinated metal ions to investigate the dispersion of the metal ions uptake
by the usage of dendrimer. The results indicates the formation of mostly
monodisperse metal clusters with diameter in the range of 1 to 2nm (40-400
atoms/cluster), which is consistent with the mole equivalent of the original
metal ion to dendrimer concentration.