COPOLYETHERSULFONES WITH PENDANT CARBOXYLIC GROUPS FOR METAL IONS ABSORPTION

Aromatic thermoplastic poly(ether-sulfone)s (PES) have reached a remarkable scientific and industrial interests owing to their excellent mechanical, chemical and thermal stabilities (1,2). This class of polymers have found application as adhesives for metal-to-metal bonds, membranes for separating gases and solids from solution or isolation of proteins, matrices for fibre rein-forced composites and as toughening agents for thermosetting resins. It has been reported in the literature that a wide spectrum of thermal, chemical and mechanical properties and also morphological behaviour, can be obtained by varying the type of monomer units in the corresponding copolymers or by derivatization of preformed commercial PESs (1,2). In the present study the chelating properties of some functionalized PES copolymers against heavy metal ions will be investigated as a function of the composition of the functional monomers