The synthesis of poly(p-phenylenediamine) microstructures without oxidant and their effective adsorption of lead ions

In this paper, we report a novel method for the shape-controlled synthesis of poly(p-phenylenediamine) (PpPD) polymer microstructures using a UV lamp as the oxidation energy source and poly(N-vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP) as the surfactant. By adjusting the synthetic conditions, a series of well-defined and uniform PpPD microstructures have been successfully prepared. The results demonstrate that although PVP plays an important role in controlling the morphology of such polymer particles, it has no influence on the intrinsic polymer structures. The as-obtained PpPD polymer microstructures show excellent adsorption ability in the removal of lead ions, which might be very useful in many practical applications, including water purification and waste treatment.