Synthesis of poly(n-(1-cyclohexythyl)acrylamite-co-ethylenenglyoldimetacrylate-co-styrene) and investigation of the adsorption properties of methylene blue from aqueous solutions

This thesis investigates the synthesis and evaluation of a new polymeric adsorbent to adsorb methylene blue (MB) from aqueous solutions. In the first step of the study, N-(1-cyclohexylethyl)acrylamide (CEA) monomer was synthesised using S-(+)-1-cyclohexylethylamine and acryloyl chloride and the obtained CEA was characterised by FTIR, 1H-NMR and 13C-NMR analysis. Then, crosslinked poly(CEA-co-Styrene-co-EGDMA) copolymer was obtained by radical polymerisation reaction using CEA monomer, ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA) and styrene monomers. FTIR, solid-NMR and elemental analysis methods were used for the characterisation of this copolymer. In the final stage of the study, the obtained poly(CEA-co-Styrene-co-EGDMA) copolymer was used as adsorbent to adsorb MB from aqueous solutions. The research investigated several variables that have an effect on adsorption efficiency, including adsorbent dose, contact time, initial MB concentration and solution pH. The optimal operating parameters were determined as a solution with an adsorbent dose of 0.1 g, initial concentration of 500 mg/L, contact time of 70 min and pH 7. Adsorption capacity was measured as 256.4 mg/g at 25°C. The kinetic data were best explained by the theoretical adsorption capacity, which was close to the experimentally determined value, and the pseudo-second order model with the highest regression coefficient.