Abstract
In the aquatic environment, heavy metals such as lead ions Pb (II) are of particular importance. These are due to Pb (II) being toxic at concentrations over 0.01 mg/L, when taken continuously over an extended length of time. Organs including the heart, gut, and kidneys are seriously harmed by Pb (II) intoxication. The neurological, reproductive, and bone systems are also affected. The removal of Pb (II) from aquatic environments is, therefore, crucial. Low density Polyethylene (LDPE) is grafted by radiation with Acrylonitrile and acrylic acid (PE-g-AN/AAc) for the adsorption of Pb (II). Factors that control the grafting process for optimum conditions, such as the effect of solvents, the air atmosphere, inhibitors, comonomer concentration, and composition and irradiation dose, are studied to obtain a high grafting yield without homopolymer formation and a higher water uptake. The results showed that the addition of 2.5% by wt% ferric chloride salt effectively inhibits homoploymerization of a mixture of 30% methanol and 70% H2O used as a solvent in nitrogen. The highest graft yield obtained was 320% at a 25 kGy radiation dose with an 80/20 monomer composition and 60% comonomer concentration. The resulting composite films were characterized by XRD to analyze the dispersion properties of the material, SEM for the surface morphology, FTIR analysis for the functional groups, TGA, DSC for the thermal stability and elongation, and tensile strength for the mechanical properties. The uptake of Pb (II) from lead nitrate aqueous solution by (PE-g-AN/AAc) was observed under different conditions of the degree of grafting, contact time, metal ion concentration, and pH. The results obtained suggest LDPE-g-p (AN/AAc) as a superabsorbent for the Pb (II) ion's removal from an aqueous solution.