Aqueous phase synthesis of ion-imprinted cryogel for paper-based colorimetric detection of As(V) with high selectivity.

A novel hydrophilic As(V) ion-imprinted cryogel (IIC) was green prepared by cryogelation in aqueous environment which was coincident with the adsorption condition and can improve the specific recognition performance. The methacrylamido propyl trimethyl ammonium chloride (MPTAC) was selected as the functional monomer and the saturated adsorption capacity of the prepared IIC and NIC were 55.0 mg/g and 29.4 mg/g, and with high imprinting factor of 1.87. Additionally, the prepared IIC showed admirable reusability and high selectivity, and the recovery was in the range 81.2-97.9% with RSD range of 1.9-4.3%, which was similar to the value obtained by hydride generation atomic absorption spectrometry. IIC can be used as solid material for colorimetric detection at the ultraviolet wavelength of 858 nm without color interference of material matrix, in the range 5-200 μg/L (R = 0.990) with a detection limit of 0.970 µg/L. Obviously, this synthetic strategy provides a simple, efficient, and green method for the preparation of water-compatible ion-imprinted polymers providing selective separation and detection of trace As(V) in real complex samples.