Review on Fundamentals, Preparations and Applications of Imprinted Polymers

Molecular Imprinting Technology (MIT) is a significant method which can be used to prepare adsorbents with recognition property for target molecules. Those intelligent materials, namely, Molecular Imprinted Polymers (MIPs) are designed with the help of the idea that mimics the matching process of key and lock. Based on the theory of MIPs, Ion-Imprinted Polymers (IIPs) are prepared by using cations or anions as targets. Compared with traditional adsorbents, they have unique advantages such as high selectivity, high adsorption capacity and easy regeneration. Owing to the above characteristics, Imprinting Technology (IT) has become a good candidate for pollutants removal and resources recycled from environment under the backgrounds of pollution aggravation and resource shortages. Thus, the present review aims to briefly narrate the fundamentals and current preparation methods of imprinted polymers, and particularly focus on the applications on human-living environment involving water, atmosphere and soil.