Inorganic Mercury Sequestration by a Poly(ethylene imine) Dendrimer in Aqueous Solution

• Main Authors: Elena Salvador Serrano, Matteo Savastano, Antonio Bianchi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2015-02-01
• Series: Molecules
• Subjects: mercury; dendrimers; poly(ethylene imine); contamination; remediation
• Online Access: http://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/20/3/3783

The interaction of the G-2 poly(ethylene imine) dendrimer L, derived from ammonia as initiating core, with Hg(II) and HgCl42− was studied in aqueous solution by means of potentiometric (pH-metric) measurements. Speciation of these complex systems showed that L is able to form a wide variety of complexes including 1:1, 2:1, 3:1 and 3:2 metal-to-ligand species, of different protonation states, as well as the anion complexes [(H7L)HgCl4]5+ and [(H8L)HgCl4]6+. The stability of the metal complexes is very high, making L an excellent sequestering agent for Hg(II), over a large pH range, and a promising ligand for the preparation of functionalized activated carbons to be employed in the remediation and the prevention of environmental problems.