Photo-Responsive Azobenzene-Containing Molecularly Imprinted Copolymers: Synthesis and Properties

In this paper, acrylic acid based light-responsive molecularly imprinted polymers were synthesized for the molecular recognition of methylene blue with light regulation performance, enriching their application environments. The template-rebinding/-release studies of the molecularly imprinted polymers showed that their affinity of the adsorption recognition sites were successfully regulated by the cis-trans isomerization of the azo group in the polymers. Rebinding isotherms and rebinding kinetics show that the adsorption of methylene blue by imprinted materials conforms to the single-layer chemical adsorption and pseudo-second-order kinetic model.