Cuprite-doped macroreticular anion exchanger obtained by reduction of the Cu(OH)2 deposit

Abstract

Abstract A macroreticular, polystyrene/divinylbenzene anion exchanger (An) was used as the macromolecular support for Cu2O, whereby new hybrid ion exchangers (HIXs) were obtained. An/Cu2O was produced by transforming the Cu(OH)2 deposit introduced into its skeleton through a reaction with CuSO4 solution. The Cu(OH)2 deposit was converted into Cu2O through wet chemical reduction by contacting the sample with a solution of ascorbic acid or glucose at ambient temperature. Both reducers made it possible to obtain HIXs with a high Cu2O content in mild conditions, but the HIX with the highest Cu2O content (up to 70.0\u202fmg\u202fg−1) was obtained using ascorbic acid in the alkaline medium. If the reaction medium was the solution containing ascorbic acid alone, other products such as metallic Cu and Cu4O3 were found to be present in the deposit. The composition of obtained materials was confirmed by instrumental techniques: XRD analysis, FTIR and XPS spectroscopy, and scanning microscopy.