Stepwise grafting polyethyleneimine onto silica surface for Cu(II) removal

Polyethyleneimine (PEI) is a novel polymer that contains multiple amine groups that are suitable for chelation with many heavy metal ions (HMI). Anchoring PEI onto the surface of a solid substrate has been widely adopted to develop adsorbent materials with the hope of combining the HMI chelating ability of PEI with the heterogeneity of the substrate.