Transport of mercury in bulk liquid membrane using calixarene nitrile derivative

Abstract

Mercury is an important industrial metal and its wastes are very toxic to the environment. In the previous study, phthalonitrile substituted calix[4]arene was synthesized and two-phase extraction properties toward the selected metal cations, such as Co, Ni, Cu, Cd, Hg and Pb, are reported. Extraction studies showed that it’s selective for Hg2+ cation. Therefore, new ligand was used for Hg2+ transport in bulk liquid membrane (BLM) at the first time in this study. The experimental data showed that new phthalonitrile substituted calix[4]arene is a good carrier for Hg2+ transport through bulk liquid membrane (BLM).