Synthesis And Characterization Of Molecular Imprinted Polymer For The Determination Of Carbonate Ion

Molecular imprinted polymer (MIP) was prepared by bulk polymerization using calcium carbonate (CaCO3) as the template molecule, methacrylic acid (MAA) as the functional monomer, and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA) as the cross-linker. For the polymer preparation, a ratio template to monomer used was 1:4. The synthesized MIP and non-imprinted polymer (NIP) were characterized using Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Ultraviolet-Visible Spectrophotometer (UV-Vis), Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). The FTIR results showed a broad -OH stretching vibration peaks associated with a methacrylic acid carboxylic group (COOH) at 3500 cm(-1) for both NIP and MIP, -CH stretching peak at 2953 cm(-1) for NIP and MIP, peaks due to the presence of methylene group in both MAA and EDMA. The carbonyl group C = O stretching peak was observed in both MIP and NIP at 1721 cm(-1), and this might have originated from MAA and EDMA respectively in both MIP and NIP. In conclusion, the synthesized MIP can potentially be applied for in situ measurement and fast detection of carbonate ion in seawater samples.