Nanoarchitectures of self-assembled poly(styrene-b-4-vinyl pyridine) diblock copolymer blended with polypeptide for effective adsorption of mercury(ii) ions

We blended the diblock copolymer poly(styrene-b-4-vinyl pyridine) (PS-b-P4VP) with polypeptides. The pyridyl rings of the P4VP block segment interacted through intermolecular hydrogen bonds with the phenolic hydroxyl groups on the side chains of poly(tyrosine) (PTyr), thereby enhancing the glass transition temperatures (Tg) as a result of their miscibility and changed morphology. The addition of hexamethylenetetramine (HMTA) then led to crosslinking of the phenolic hydroxyl groups of PTyr. The crosslinked PS-b-P4VP/PTyr materials displayed superior thermal properties. Because mercury ions tend to bind to the pyridyl rings of P4VP and the amido groups of PTyr through ionic dipole interactions, these materials adsorbed mercury with very high efficiency.