Recovery of gold from mining solutions using Au(III)-imprinted polymeric resins with pyridine, ethylenediamine and aminothiophosphate functionalities

New Au(III)-ion-imprinted polymers (Au(III)-IIPs) with pyridine (4-VP), ethylenediamine (EDA) or aminothiophosphate (ADT) functionalities were prepared and employed in recovering Au(III) ions from aqueous media. These polymers demonstrated good adsorption capability for Au(III) ions owing to their faster kinetics adsorption, higher capacity and good recyclability. The Au(III) ions kinetic data fitted well to pseudo-second-order rate equation. The equilibrium data were best described by the Langmuir isotherm, with the maximum adsorption capacity of 418.41, 393.70 and 189.75 mg g^–1 for IIPs with 4-VP, EDA and ADT, respectively. The IIPs displayed excellent recognition towards Au(III) in its binary systems with Pb(II), Ni(II), Cu(II), Mn(II) and Fe(III), Pt(IV) and Pd(II). The suitability of the developed IIPs for selective recovery of Au(III) in real leach liquor samples and acid mine drainage spiked with standards was successfully demonstrated.