Preparation and uranyl ion adsorptivity of macroreticular chelating resins containing a pair of neighboring amidoxime groups in a monomeric styrene unit

A cyanomethylated styrene-divinylbenzene copolymer was prepared by the reaction of a chloromethylated styrene-divinylbenzene copolymer with sodium cyanide. A polystyrene-based macroreticular resin containing a pair of neighboring nitrile groups in each monomeric styrene unit was obtained from the reaction of the cyanomethylated copolymer with 3-chloropropionitrile under phase transfer conditions. The resin was reacted with hydroxylamine to afford a chelating resin containing a pair of neighboring amidoxime groups in each monomeric styrene unit. The chelating resin showed high adsorption capacity for uranyl ions. It was found that the resin was an effective adsorbent for other heavy metal ions such as Hg2+ and Pb2+.