An ion-exchange weakly acid phenol-formaldehyde resin capable of adsorbing heavy metals has been synthesized. A new material, dermal collagen hydrolysate, was used as a resin modifier to impart ion–exchange properties. IR and EPR spectroscopy methods have established that the active centers of the sorbent obtained are carboxyl and amino groups. It is assumed that the presence of amino groups increases the sorption capacity under normal temperature conditions. By EPR spectroscopy, it was found that the adsorbed heavy metal ion becomes in an axial position.
Using an electron microscope, it was found that a decrease in the liquid coefficient (LC) of the hydrolysate leads to an increase in the porosity of the ionite (up to LC8), resulting in an increase in the sorption capacity, with a further decrease in the liquid coefficient, it is likely that the number of hydrolyzed protein molecules is sewn into the resin structure with a frequency sufficient to prevent pore formation. According to studies of the ionite surface, the synthesized ionite can be attributed to macroporous cationites – the ionite pore size reaches 37.3 microns.