Novel N-rich porous organic polymers with extremely high uptake for capture and reversible storage of volatile iodine

Spirobifluorene-BINOL-based microporous polymer nanoreactor for efficient 1H-tetrazole synthesis and iodine adsorption with facile charge transfer

Porous polymeric nanoreactors capable of multitasking are attractive and require a judicious design strategy. Herein, we describe an unusual approach for the synthesis of a porous polymer SBF-BINOL-6 by in situ formation of the BINOL entity taking substituted naphthols and spirobifluorene as co-monomers with high yield (81%). The as-synthesized polymer exhibited nanotube and nanosphere-like morphology, thermal endurance up to 372 °C and a BET surface area as high as 590 m2 g-1. The polymer endowed efficient loading of silver nanoparticles to generate Ag@SBF6, as confirmed from X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. Ag@SBF6 was effectively used as a heterogeneous catalyst towards the [3 + 2] dipolar cycloaddition reaction for the synthesis of biologically important 5-substituted 1H-tetrazoles with yields in the range of 75-99% and recyclability for at least seven times without a significant decline in its catalytic efficiency. Additionally, a superior host-guest interaction by the polymer offered iodine adsorption in the vapour phase with a high uptake capacity of up to 4.0 g g-1. Interestingly, the iodine-loaded polymer, I2@SBF6, demonstrated iodine-promoted increased conductivity (1.3 × 10-3 S cm-1) through facile charge transfer interactions.

Synergistic enhancement of iodine capture from humid streams by microporosity and hydrophobicity of activated carbon fiber

Activated carbon fibers (ACF) are widely used to remove gaseous radioiodine produced during spent fuel reprocessing owing to their excellent adsorption properties. However, ACF's strong affinity for moisture tends to dominate, significantly reducing its ability to capture iodine in humid environments. The study used a one-step facile modification method of spray-deposited poly(divinylbenzene) (PDVB) nanoparticles on ACF to prepare hydrophobic activated carbon fiber (ACF-PDVB1.5). Compared to the initial ACF, the ACF-PDVB1.5 enhances the specific surface area to 1571 m2/g while maintaining abundant active sites, overcoming the disadvantage of pore reduction caused by traditional modification methods. More importantly, they also have excellent acid and alkali resistance and hydrophobicity (water contact angle 131.1°), with a preference for I2 pores (97 % microporosity). The iodine capture capacity of ACF PDVB 1.5 showed a significant increase compared to the initial ACF, as indicated by both static and dynamic adsorption tests. Notably, the dynamic iodine adsorption capacity of ACF-PDVB1.5 in a mixed iodine-water vapor stream at actual temperature (75 °C) and humid (50 % RH) conditions was 1847.69 mg/g, an increase of 55.47 % over the capacity of initial ACF (1188.71 mg/g). This work improves the overall I2 adsorption performance through hydrophobicity and pore size coordination.

Highly Efficient Capture of Volatile Iodine by Conjugated Microporous Polymers Constructed Using Planar 3- and 4-Connected Organic Monomers

The effective capture and recovery of radioiodine species associated with nuclear fuel reprocessing is of significant importance in nuclear power plants. Porous materials have been proven to be one of the most effective adsorbents for the capture of radioiodine. In this work, we design and synthesize a series of conjugated microporous polymers (CMPs), namely, TPDA-TFPB CMP, TPDA-TATBA CMP, and TPDA-TECHO CMP, which are constructed based on a planar rectangular 4-connected organic monomer and three triangular 3-connected organic monomers, respectively. The resultant CMPs are characterized using various characterization techniques and used as effective adsorbents for iodine capture. Our experiments indicated that the CMPs exhibit excellent iodine adsorption capacities as high as 6.48, 6.25, and 6.37 g g-1 at 348 K and ambient pressure. The adsorption mechanism was further investigated and the strong chemical adsorption between the iodine and the imine/tertiary ammonia of the CMPs, 3D network structure with accessible hierarchical pores, uniform micromorphology, wide π-conjugated structure, and high-density Lewis-base sites synergistically contribute to their excellent iodine adsorption performance. Moreover, the CMPs demonstrated good recyclability. This work provides guidance for the construction of novel iodine adsorbent materials with high efficiency in the nuclear power field.

Fabrication of Polysulfone Beads Containing Covalent Organic Polymer as a Versatile Platform for Efficient Iodine Capture

Radioactive iodine poses a significant risk to human health, particularly with regard to reproductive and metabolic functions. Designing and developing highly efficient adsorbent materials for radioactive substances remain a significant challenge. This study aimed to address this issue by the fabricating polymeric beads containing covalent organic polymer (COP) as an effective method for removing iodine vapor. To achieve this, a COP was first synthesized via the Friedel-Crafts reaction catalyzed by anhydrous aluminum chloride. Then, COP-loaded polysulfone (PSf) (COP@PSf) and PSf beads were prepared using a phase separation method. The beads produced in this research have exhibited remarkable proficiency in adsorbing iodine vapor, showing an adsorption capacity of up to 216 wt % within just 420 min, which is higher than that of most other similar beads reported in the literature.

Investigation of bismuth-based metal-organic frameworks for effective capture and immobilization of radioiodine gas

In this study, we investigated the use of Bi-mna, a specific type of bismuth metal organic framework (MOF) for the capture and disposal of iodine, a key nuclide of concern in nuclear fuel reprocessing plants and nuclear power plants. To find the suitable form of Bi-mna for the purpose, experiments were performed by synthesizing four different Bi-mna with varying reagent ratios and connecting iodine adsorption and conversion for immobilization. After iodine adsorption and characterization to investigate their adsorption mechanisms, the Bi-mna samples went through conversion for immobilization to fix captured iodine into the adsorbents. The converted materials are characterized to examine their thermal stability. The Bi-2mna, showing the best performance of adsorption and thermal stability after the conversion, was selected to explore its chemical stability. According to the test results, the converted compound showed relatively low leaching rate (3.06 ×10-5 g/m2∙day) compared with other iodine containing waste forms for disposal. Based on the results, we proposed the Bi-2mna as a candidate material as iodine adsorbent as well as waste form precursor. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATION: Radioiodine a key nuclide of concern in nuclear fuel reprocessing plants and nuclear power plants. Once ingested, it is accumulated in thyroid grand, causing negative health effects. Currently, a typical radioiodine adsorbent is silver-based zeolites. Despite a strong affinity to iodine of silver, it has a chemical toxicity that causes a potential issue in disposal. Therefore, it is substantially required to develop new type of adsorbents which are both good for capture and disposal of radioiodine. In this respect, we suggested a bismuth-based metal-organic framework as an alternative adsorbent to manage the life cycle of radioiodine.

Iodine Adsorption-Desorption-Induced Structural Transformation and Improved Ag+ Turn-On Luminescent Sensing Performance of a Nonporous Eu(III) Metal-Organic Framework

Posttreatment of pristine metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) with suitable vapor may be an effective way to regulate their structures and properties but has been less explored. Herein, we report an interesting example in which a crystalline nonporous Eu(III)-MOF was transferred to a porous amorphous MOF (aMOF) via iodine vapor adsorption-desorption posttreatment, and the resulting aMOF showed improved turn-on sensing properties with respect to Ag+ ions. The crystalline Eu-MOF, namely, Eu-IPDA, was assembled from Eu(III) and 4,4'-{4-[4-(1H-imidazol-1-yl)phenyl]pyridine-2,6-diyl}dibenzoic acid (H2IPDA) and exhibited a two-dimensional (2D) coordination network based on one-dimensional secondary building blocks. The close packing of the 2D networks gives rise to a three-dimensional supramolecular framework without any significant pores. Interestingly, the nonporous Eu-IPDA could absorb iodine molecules when Eu-IPDA crystals were placed in iodine vapor at 85 °C, and the adsorption capacity was 1.90 g/g, which is comparable to those of many MOFs with large BET surfaces. The adsorption of iodine is attributed to the strong interactions among the iodine molecule, the carboxy group, and the N-containing group and leads to the amorphization of the framework. After immersion of the iodine-loaded Eu-IPDA in EtOH, approximately 89.7% of the iodine was removed, resulting in a porous amorphous MOF, denoted as a-Eu-IPDA. In addition, the remaining iodine in the a-Eu-IPDA framework causes strong luminescent quenching in the fluorescence emission region of the Eu(III) center when compared with that in Eu-IPDA. The luminescence intensity of a-Eu-IPDA in water suspensions was significantly enhanced when Ag+ ions were added, with a detection limit of 4.76 × 10-6 M, which is 1000 times that of pristine Eu-IPDA. It also showed strong anti-interference ability over many common competitive metal ions and has the potential to sense Ag+ in natural water bodies and traditional Chinese medicine preparations. A mechanistic study showed that the interactions between Ag+ and the absorbed iodine, the carboxylate group, and the N atoms all contribute to the sensing performance of a-Eu-IPDA.

Efficient adsorption of radioactive iodine by covalent organic framework/chitosan aerogel

Radioactive iodine is considered one of the most dangerous radioactive elements in nuclear waste. Therefore, effective capture of radioactive iodine is essential for developing and using nuclear energy to solve the energy crisis. Some materials that have been developed for removing radioactive iodine still suffer from complex synthesis, low removal capacity, and non-reusability. Herein, covalent organic framework (COF)/chitosan (CS) aerogels were prepared using vacuum freeze-drying, and the COF nanoparticles were tightly attached on the green biomass material CS networks. Due to the synergistic effect of both COF and CS, the composite aerogel shows a three-dimensional porous and stable structure in the recycle usage. The COF/CS aerogel exhibits excellent iodine adsorption capacity of 2211.58 mg g-1 and 5.62 g g-1 for static iodine solution and iodine vapor, respectively, better than some common adsorbents. Furthermore, COF/CS aerogel demonstrated good recyclability performance with 87 % of the initial adsorption capacity after 5 cycles. In addition, the interaction between iodine and imine groups, amino groups, and benzene rings of aerogel are the possible adsorption mechanisms. COF/CS aerogel has excellent adsorption properties, good chemical stability, and reusable performance, which is a potential and efficient adsorbent for industrial radioactive iodine adsorption from nuclear waste.

Boron nitride aerogels incorporated with metal nanoparticles: Multifunctional platforms for iodine capture and detection

Radioactive iodine vapors produced by nuclear fission can pose a significant risk to human health and the environment. Effective monitoring of iodine vapor leakage, capture and storage of radioactive iodine vapor are of great importance for the safety of the nuclear industry. Herein, we report a novel structure-function integrated solid iodine vapor adsorbent based on metal-modified boron nitride (BN) aerogel. Metal-modified BN aerogels incorporated with Cu/Ag nanoparticles (named as BN-Cu and BN-Ag, respectively) are successfully prepared by a metal-induced, ultrasonic-assisted, and in-situ transformation method. The metal-modified BN aerogels show improved mechanical properties in both of the maximum stress and residual deformation. Remarkably, due to the greatly enhanced "host-guest" and "guest-guest" effects by the introduction of metal nanoparticles, the BN-Cu and BN-Ag aerogels exhibit record-breaking iodine vapor adsorption capacities among inorganic adsorbents (1739.8 and 2234.13 wt% respectively), which are even higher than that of most organic adsorbents. Furthermore, an integrated iodine adsorption detection device based on metal-modified aerogels is constructed to realize real-time detection of the electrical properties of aerogels during iodine adsorption. This work provides a foundation for the development of BN aerogels as multifunctional platforms for effective iodine capture and detection. It also introduces new ideas for the use of structural-functional integrated materials in the prevention and control of radioactive iodine pollution.

Conjugated Microporous Polymers Based on Octet and Tetratopic Linkers for Efficient Iodine Capture

Radioactive iodine from nuclear waste poses a huge threat to public safety and raises concerns about environmental pollution. There is thus a growing demand for developing novel adsorbents for highly effective iodine capture. In this work, we design and synthesize three novel conjugated microporous polymers, namely, TPE-PyTTA-CMP, TPE-TAPP-CMP, and TPE-TPDA-CMP, which are constructed by an imidization reaction based on octet and tetratopic linkers. The iodine vapor adsorption experiments show that the three CMPs have an excellent iodine adsorption capacity as high as 3.10, 3.67, and 4.68 g·g-1 under 348 K and ambient pressure conditions, respectively. The adsorbed iodine in the CMPs can be released into methanol in a dramatically rapid manner, and their excellent iodine adsorption performance can still be maintained after multiple cycles. In addition, the CMPs demonstrate good adsorption performance in an n-hexane solution of iodine, and the kinetic experimental data follow the pseudo-second-order model. The hierarchical porosity, extended π-conjugated skeleton, and rich electron-donor nitrogen sites of the CMPs could contribute to their excellent iodine adsorption performance. The knowledge information obtained in this work could open up new possibilities for designing novel CMPs targeting a wide range of environment-related applications.

Porous organic polymers (POPs) for environmental remediation

Modern global industrialization along with the ever-increasing growth of the population has resulted in continuous enhancement in the discharge and accumulation of various toxic and hazardous chemicals in the environment. These harmful pollutants, including toxic gases, inorganic heavy metal ions, anthropogenic waste, persistent organic pollutants, toxic dyes, pharmaceuticals, volatile organic compounds, etc., are destroying the ecological balance of the environment. Therefore, systematic monitoring and effective remediation of these toxic pollutants either by adsorptive removal or by catalytic degradation are of great significance. From this viewpoint, porous organic polymers (POPs), being two- or three-dimensional polymeric materials, constructed from small organic molecules connected with rigid covalent bonds have come forth as a promising platform toward various leading applications, especially for efficient environmental remediation. Their unique chemical and structural features including high stability, tunable pore functionalization, and large surface area have boosted the transformation of POPs into various macro-physical forms such as thick and thin-film membranes, which led to a new direction in advanced level pollutant removal, separation and catalytic degradation. In this review, our focus is to highlight the recent progress and achievements in the strategic design, synthesis, architectural-engineering and applications of POPs and their composite materials toward environmental remediation. Several strategies to improve the adsorption efficiency and catalytic degradation performance along with the in-depth interaction mechanism of POP-based materials have been systematically summarized. In addition, evolution of POPs from regular powder form application to rapid and more efficient size and chemo-selective, "real-time" applicable membrane-based application has been further highlighted. Finally, we put forward our perspective on the challenges and opportunities of these materials toward real-world implementation and future prospects in next generation remediation technology.

Design and Synthesis of Porous Organic Polymers: Promising Catalysts for Lignocellulose Conversion to 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural and Derivates

In the face of the current energy and environmental problems, the full use of biomass resources instead of fossil energy to produce a series of high-value chemicals has great application prospects. 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), which can be synthesized from lignocellulose as a raw material, is an important biological platform molecule. Its preparation and the catalytic oxidation of subsequent products have important research significance and practical value. In the actual production process, porous organic polymer (POP) catalysts are highly suitable for biomass catalytic conversion due to their high efficiency, low cost, good designability, and environmentally friendly features. Here, we briefly describe the application of various types of POPs (including COFs, PAFs, HCPs, and CMPs) in the preparation and catalytic conversion of HMF from lignocellulosic biomass and analyze the influence of the structural properties of catalysts on the catalytic performance. Finally, we summarize some challenges that POPs catalysts face in biomass catalytic conversion and prospect the important research directions in the future. This review provides valuable references for the efficient conversion of biomass resources into high-value chemicals in practical applications.

Removal of iodine by dry adsorbents in filtered containment venting system after 10 years of Fukushima accident

Radioactive iodine is a hazardous fission product and a major concern for public health. Special attention is paid to iodine out of 80 fission products because of its short half-life of 8.02 days, high activity, and potential health hazards like its irreversible accumulation in thyroid gland and ability to cause thyroid cancer locally. Radioactive iodine can get released in the form of aerosols (cesium iodide), elemental iodine, and organic iodide after a nuclear accident and can cause off-site and on-site contamination. Filtered containment venting system (FCVS) is a safety system whose main objective is mitigation of severe accidents via controlled venting and removal of different forms of iodine to ensure safety of people and environment. After nuclear accidents like Fukushima, extensive research has been done on the removal of iodine by using dry scrubbers. This review paper presents research status of iodine removal by dry adsorbents especially after 10 years of Fukushima to assess the progress, research gap, and challenges that require more attention. A good adsorbent should be cost-effective; it should have high selective adsorption towards iodine, high thermal and chemical stability, and good loading capacity; and its adsorption should remain unaffected by aging and the presence of inhibitors like CO, NO₂, CH₃Cl, H₂O, and Cl₂ and radiation. Research on different dry adsorbents was discussed, and their capability as a potential filter for FCVS was reviewed on the basis of all the above-mentioned features. Metal fiber filters have been widely used for removal of aerosols especially micro- and nanoscale aerosols. For designing a metal fiber filter, optimal size or combination of sizes of fibers, number of layers, and loading capacity of filter should be decided according to feasibility and requirement. Balance between flow resistance and removal efficiency is also very important. Sand bed filters were successful in retention of aerosols, but they showed low trapping of iodine and no trapping of methyl iodide at all. For iodine and methyl iodide removal, many adsorbents like activated carbon, zeolites, metal organic frameworks (MOFs), porous organic frameworks (POPs), silica, aerogels, titanosilicates, etc. have been used. Impregnated activated carbon showed good results but low auto-ignition temperature and decline in adsorption due to aging and inhibitors like NO_x made them less suitable. Silver zeolites have been very successful in methyl iodide and iodine removal, but they are expensive and affected by presence of CO. Titanosilicates, macroreticular resins, and chalcogels were also studied and they showed good adsorption capacities, but their thermal stability was low. Other adsorbents like silica, MOFs, aerogels, and POPs also showed promising results for iodine adsorption and good thermal stability, but very limited or no research is available on their performance in severe accident conditions. This review will be very helpful for researchers to understand the merits and demerits of different types of dry adsorbents, the important operating parameters that need optimization for designing an efficient scrubber, margin of research, and foreseeable challenges in removal of different forms of iodine.

Quinoid-Thiophene-Based Covalent Organic Polymers for High Iodine Uptake: When Rational Chemical Design Counterbalances the Low Surface Area and Pore Volume

A novel 2D covalent organic polymer (COP), based on conjugated quinoid-oligothiophene (QOT) and tris(aminophenyl) benzene (TAPB) moieties, is designed and synthesized (TAPB-QOT COP). Some DFT calculations are made to clarify the equilibrium between different QOT isomers and how they could affect the COP formation. Once synthetized, the polymer has been thoroughly characterized by spectroscopic (i.e., Raman, UV-vis), SSNMR and surface (e.g., SEM, BET) techniques, showing a modest surface area (113 m² g^-1) and micropore volume (0.014 cm³ g^-1 with an averaged pore size of 5.6-8 Å). Notwithstanding this, TAPB-QOT COP shows a remarkably high iodine (I₂) uptake capacity (464 %wt) comparable to or even higher than state-of-the-art porous organic polymers (POPs). These auspicious values are due to the thoughtful design of the polymer with embedded sulfur sites and a conjugated scaffold with the ability to counterbalance the relatively low pore volumes. Indeed, both morphological and Raman data, supported by computational analyses, prove the very high affinity between the S atom in our COP and the I₂. As a result, TAPB-QOT COP shows the highest volumetric I₂ uptake (i.e., the amount of I₂ uptaken per volume unit) up to 331 g cm^-3 coupled with a remarkably high reversibility (>80% after five cycles).

Superfast Capture of Iodine from Air, Water, and Organic Solvent by Potential Dithiocarbamate-Based Organic Polymer

Organic polymers are widely explored due to their high stability, scalability, and more facile modification properties. We developed cost-effective dithiocarbamate-based organic polymers synthesized using diamides, carbon disulfide, and diamines to apply for environmental remediation. The sequestration of radioiodine is a serious concern to tackle when dealing with nuclear power for energy requirements. However, many of the current sorbents have the problem of slower adsorption for removing iodine. In this report, we discuss the utilization of an electron-rich dithiocarbamate-based organic polymer for the removal of iodine in a very short time and with high uptake. Our material showed 2.8 g/g uptake of vapor iodine in 1 h, 915.19 mg/g uptake of iodine from cyclohexane within 5 s, 93% removal of saturated iodine from water in 1 min, and 1250 mg/g uptake of triiodide ions from water within 30 s. To the best of our knowledge, the iodine capture was faster than previously observed for any existing material. The material was fully recyclable when applied for up to four cycles. Hence, this dithiocarbamate-based polymer can be a promising system for the fast removal of various forms of iodine and, thus, enhance environmental security.

Cluster-Based Crystalline Materials for Iodine Capture

The treatment of radioactive iodine in nuclear waste has always been a critical issue of social concern. The rational design of targeted and efficient capture materials is of great significance to the sustainable development of the ecological environment. In recent decades, crystalline materials have served as a molecular platform to study the binding process and capture mechanism of iodine molecules, enabling people to understand the interaction between radioactive iodine guests and pores intuitively. Cluster-based crystalline materials, including molecular clusters and cluster-based metal-organic frameworks, are emerging candidates for iodine capture due to their aggregative binding sites, precise structural information, tunable pores/packing patterns, and abundant modifications. Herein, recent progress of different types of cluster materials and cluster-dominated metal-organic porous materials for iodine capture is reviewed. Research prospects, design strategies to improve the affinity for iodine and possible capture mechanisms are discussed.

An Azo-Group-Functionalized Porous Aromatic Framework for Achieving Highly Efficient Capture of Iodine

The strong radioactivity of iodine compounds derived from nuclear power plant wastes has motivated the development of highly efficient adsorbents. Porous aromatic frameworks (PAFs) have attracted much attention due to their low density and diverse structure. In this work, an azo group containing PAF solid, denoted as LNU-58, was prepared through Suzuki polymerization of tris-(4-(4,4,5,5-tetramethyl-1,3,2-dioxaborolan-2-yl)-phenyl)-amine and 3,5-dibromoazobenzene building monomers. Based on the specific polarity properities of the azo groups, the electron-rich aromatic fragments in the hierarchical architecture efficiently capture iodine molecules with an adsorption capacity of 3533.11 mg g−1 (353 wt%) for gaseous iodine and 903.6 mg g−1 (90 wt%) for dissolved iodine. The iodine uptake per specific surface area up to 8.55 wt% m−2 g−1 achieves the highest level among all porous adsorbents. This work illustrates the successful preparation of a new type of porous adsorbent that is expected to be applied in the field of practical iodine adsorption.

A chiral porous organic polymer COP-1 used as stationary phase for HPLC enantioseparation under normal-phase and reversed-phase conditions

A spherical chiral porous organic polymer (POPs) COP-1 is synthesized by the Friedel-Crafts alkylation reaction of Boc-3-(4-biphenyl)-L-alanine (BBLA) and 4,4'-bis(chloromethyl)-1,1'-biphenyl (BCMBP), which was used as a novel chiral stationary phase (CSPs) for mixed-mode high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) enantioseparation. The racemic compounds were resolved in normal-phase liquid chromatography (NPLC) using n-hexane/isopropanol as mobile phase and reversed-phase liquid chromatography (RPLC) using methanol/water as mobile phase. The COP-1-packed column exhibited excellent separation performance toward various racemic compounds including alcohols, amines, ketones, esters, epoxy compounds, organic acids, and amino acids in NPLC and RPLC modes. The effects of analyte mass and column temperature on the separation efficiency of racemic compounds were investigated. In addition, the chiral resolution ability of the COP-1-packed column not only can be complementary in RPLC/NPLC modes but also exhibit a good chiral recognition complementarity with Chiralpak AD-H column and chiral porous organic cage (POC) NC1-R column. The relative standard deviations (RSD) (n = 5) of the retention time, resolution value, and peak area by repeated separation of 1-(4-chiorophenyl)ethanol are all below 3.0%. The COP-1 column shows high column efficiency (e.g., 17,320 plates m^-1 for 1-(4-chlorophenyl)ethanol on COP-1 column in NPLC), high enantioselectivity, and good reproducibility toward various racemates. This work demonstrates that chiral POPs microspheres are promising chiral materials for HPLC enantioseparation.

Synthesis of Electron-Rich Porous Organic Polymers via Schiff-Base Chemistry for Efficient Iodine Capture

As one of the main nuclear wastes generated in the process of nuclear fission, radioactive iodine has attracted worldwide attention due to its harm to public safety and environmental pollution. Therefore, it is of crucial importance to develop materials that can rapidly and efficiently capture radioactive iodine. Herein, we report the construction of three electron-rich porous organic polymers (POPs), denoted as POP-E, POP-T and POP-P via Schiff base polycondensations reactions between Td-symmetric adamantane knot and four-branched “linkage” molecules. We demonstrated that all the three POPs showed high iodine adsorption capability, among which the adsorption capacity of POP-T for iodine vapor reached up to 3.94 g·g⁻¹ and the removal rate of iodine in n-hexane solution was up to 99%. The efficient iodine capture mechanism of the POP-T was investigated through systematic comparison of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), Raman spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) before and after iodine adsorption. The unique π-π conjugated system between imine bonds linked aromatic rings with iodine result in charge-transfer complexes, which explains the exceptional iodine capture capacity. Additionally, the introduction of heteroatoms into the framework would also enhance the iodine adsorption capability of POPs. Good retention behavior and recycling capacity were also observed for the POPs.

Triazine-based porous organic polymers for reversible capture of iodine and utilization in antibacterial application

The capture and safe storage of radioactive iodine (¹²⁹I or ¹³¹I) are of a compelling significance in the generation of nuclear energy and waste storage. Because of their physiochemical properties, Porous Organic Polymers (POPs) are considered to be one of the most sought classes of materials for iodine capture and storage. Herein, we report on the preparation and characterization of two triazine-based, nitrogen-rich, porous organic polymers, NRPOP-1 (SA_BET = 519 m² g⁻¹) and NRPOP-2 (SA_BET = 456 m² g⁻¹), by reacting 1,3,5-triazine-2,4,6-triamine or 1,4-bis-(2,4-diamino-1,3,5-triazine)-benzene with thieno[2,3-b]thiophene-2,5-dicarboxaldehyde, respectively, and their use in the capture of volatile iodine. NRPOP-1 and NRPOP-2 showed a high adsorption capacity of iodine vapor with an uptake of up to 317 wt % at 80 °C and 1 bar and adequate recyclability. The NRPOPs were also capable of removing up to 87% of iodine from 300 mg L⁻¹ iodine-cyclohexane solution. Furthermore, the iodine-loaded polymers, I₂@NRPOP-1 and I₂@NRPOP-2, displayed good antibacterial activity against Micrococcus luteus (ML), Escherichia coli (EC), and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PSA). The synergic functionality of these novel polymers makes them promising materials to the environment and public health.

Bifunctional conjugated microporous polymer based filters for highly efficient PM and gaseous iodine capture

Cross-linked conjugated microporous polymers (CMPs) based air filters obtained by a one-step cross-coupling reaction for effective capture of particulate matter and gaseous iodine from dusty air.

Barbituric and thiobarbituric acid-based UiO-66-NH2 adsorbents for iodine gas capture: Characterization, efficiency and mechanisms

Efficient iodine gas capture is necessitated in many industries like spent nuclear fuel off-gas treatment in view of environmental protection and resource recycling. However, the adsorption efficiency and stability of the current adsorbents are limited. In the present work, efficient and stable barbituric and thiobarbituric acid-based UiO-66-NH₂ adsorbents (i.e., UiO-66-NH-B.D and UiO-66-NH-T.D, respectively) have been synthesized by post-synthetic covalent modification. Characterization approaches, including SEM-EDS, TEM, XRD, FTIR, XPS, ¹H NMR, TGA and BET, are used to obtain information on the properties and adsorption mechanisms of these metal-organic framework (MOF) adsorbents. The kinetics and mechanisms involved are studied in detail. The treatment efficiency and recyclability of the adsorbents are checked and compared with the adsorbents reported in previous works. The results show that the current adsorbents are potentially suitable for efficient iodine gas capture. High maximum iodine adsorption amount by UiO-66-NH-B.D and UiO-66-NH-T.D (1.17 and 1.33 g/g) was achieved under 75 °C. These new adsorbents are thermally stable for iodine adsorption and regenerated and reused with good performance. The adsorption mechanisms were revealed based on experimental results, indicating that iodine is adsorbed by both physisorption and chemisorption.

Degradable and processable polymer monoliths with open-pore porosity for selective CO2 and iodine adsorption

A task-specific design of biodegradable and processable porous polymers is one of the primary requisite for their efficient day-to-day use to minimize polymer waste. Herein, a surfactant (or additive)-free method is reported for the synthesis of a processable and degradable aliphatic open-pore porous polyelectrolyte monolith for the removal of gaseous pollutants such as iodine and CO2. This is achieved via a colloidal templating method. In the 1st stage, cationic colloidal nanoparticles containing reactive amines and acrylamide groups were formed via the phase separation of hyperbranched polyaminoamides in water (sol). These cationic nanoparticles (which acted as both templates and macromers) further reacted to form a gel, which upon freeze-drying leads to the formation of a polymer monolith with an open-pore porous morphology and hierarchical porosity throughout its structure. During gelation, the shape of the monolith can be controlled using suitable templates and a similar strategy was used to prepare porous thin films. The monolith has shown excellent iodine adsorption ability (5000 mg g-1 in the vapor phase and 2663 mg g-1 in the solution phase) with good reusability and CO2 adsorption ability (60 mg g-1), with CO2/CH4 and CO2/N2 selectivities of 18.5 and 6.7, respectively. The degradability of the materials was studied in detail at different pH, confirming their easy degradability in aqueous solutions and a higher degradability at basic pH.

Fluorescent aminal linked porous organic polymer for reversible iodine capture and sensing

A novel triazene-anthracene-based fluorescent aminal linked porous organic polymer (TALPOP) was prepared via metal free-Schiff base polycondensation reaction of 9,10-bis-(4,6-diamino-S-triazin-2-yl)anthracene and 2-furaldehyde. The polymer has exceptional chemical and thermal stabilities and exhibit good porosity with Brunauer–Emmett–Teller surface area of 401 m²g⁻¹. The combination of such porosity along with the highly conjugated heteroatom-rich framework enabled the polymer to exhibit exceptional iodine vapor uptake of up to 314 wt % and reversible iodine adsorption in solution. Because of the inclusion of the anthracene moieties, the TALPOP exhibited excellent detection sensitivity towards iodine via florescence quenching with K_sv value of 2.9 × 10³ L mol⁻¹. The cost effective TALPOP along with its high uptake and sensing of iodine, make it an ideal material for environmental remediation.

Fluorescent conjugated microporous polymers containing pyrazine moieties for adsorbing and fluorescent sensing of iodine

Two kinds of fluorescent conjugated microporous polymers containing pyrazine moieties were prepared by the polymerization reaction of 2,5-di-triphenylamine-yl-pyrazine (DTPAPz) and N,N,N',N'-tetrapheny-2,5-(diazyl) pyrazine (TDPz) with 2,4,6-trichloro-1,3,5-triazine (TCT) through Friedel-Crafts reaction using the methanesulfonic acid as a catalysts. Both CMPs have high thermal stability and decomposition temperature reaches above 596 and 248 °C under nitrogen atmosphere, respectively. By right of porous morphology and electron-donating nitrogen, as well as electron-rich π-conjugated structures, the adsorption performance for iodine vapor on the CMPs is very excellent, which can reach 441% and 312%. In addition, fluorescence studies showed that the two CMPs exhibited high fluorescence sensitivity to electron-deficient iodine, o-nitrophenol (o-NP), and picric acid (PA) via fluorescence quenching.

Polytriazine porous networks for effective iodine capture

Herein we present a rational strategy for the development of nitrogen-enriched conjugated microporous polymers (CMPs) (TBTT-CMP@1, 2 and 3) via a BH coupling reaction under mild conditions, for the super absorption of iodine. TBTT-CMP@1 exhibited iodine capture amount up to 442 wt%.

An indole-derived porous organic polymer for the efficient visual colorimetric capture of iodine in aqueous media via the synergistic effects of cation–π and electrostatic forces

A recyclable indole-based POP was successfully achieved, which was capable of visual colorimetric iodine capture in water via cation–π and electrostatic interactions.

A Versatile Solvent-Induced Polymerization Strategy To Synthesize Free-Standing Porous Polymer Nanosheets and Nanotubes for Fast Iodine Capture

Two-dimensional (2D) porous polymers have demonstrated great potential in gas capture and surface catalysis as well as energy storage and conversion. Current synthesis of 2D porous polymers strongly depends on the usage of templates or an additional exfoliation process. The resultant products have uncontrollable morphology and structure, low structure integrity, and relatively low yield. Herein, a facile and high-throughput solvent-induced polymerization strategy to prepare ultrathin free-standing 2D porous hyper-cross-linked polymer nanosheets with large surface area and high sulfur content by cross-linking steric hexakis(benzylthio)benzene and thiophene is reported. Using this approach, the morphologies (nanosheets and nanotubes) and specific surface areas (658-1150 m² g^-1) of porous hyper-cross-linked polymers can be simply tailored by adjusting the cross-linking degree between monomers. The as-synthesized porous hyper-cross-linked polymer nanotubes exhibit promising iodine capture performance, including a superior iodine uptake capacity (∼270 wt %) and a rapid equilibrium adsorption (within 60 min). This method will pave a new avenue for the synthesis of advanced 2D porous polymers for various applications.

Controllable Synthesis of Porous Cu-BTC@polymer Composite Beads for Iodine Capture

The efficient and safe capture of radioactive iodine (¹²⁹I or ¹³¹I) is of great significance in nuclear waste disposal. Here, we report millimeter-scale poly(ether sulfone) composite beads loaded with porous Cu-BTC [Cu₃(BTC)₂, BTC = 1,3,5-benzenetricarboxylate] (Cu-BTC@PES), prepared by a phase inversion method for the removal of volatile iodine. Three kinds of Cu-BTC@PES composite beads were obtained with different Cu-BTC contents of 48.6, 60.2, and 71.9%, respectively. While maintaining crystallinity, the composite beads exhibited higher I₂ vapor adsorption capacity (639 mg/g) in the form of iodine molecules. The iodine absorption up to 260 mg/g and the adsorption was followed Langmuir isotherm and pseudo-second-order kinetic model. Furthermore, the composite beads can still absorb more than 85% of iodine after 3 cycles of regeneration with excellent recyclability. The resulting Cu-BTC@PES composite beads show great potential for the sustainable removal of radioactive iodine.

Effects of Rigid Conjugated Groups: Toward Improving Enantioseparation Performances of Chiral Porous Organic Polymers

The construction of chiral porous materials for practical enantioseparation remains a great challenge. As chiral compounds might display a distinctive spatial orientation in diastereoisomeric complexes between enantiomers and selectors, we reasoned that the conjugated host framework might assist in chiral recognition and thus enhance enantioseparation performances. In this regard, as porous organic polymers (POPs) with chiral selectors are considered as ideal adsorbents, a new kind of POP, COP-1, was thus constructed via introducing an amino acid, as a chiral selector, into rigid and conjugated building blocks, in this work. Results show that the enantiomeric model molecule and drugs are completely separated by gas or column chromatography with COP-1 as chiral stationary phases. Both theoretical and experimental analyses demonstrate that the introduction of conjugated groups generates different host-guest interactions indeed and thus promotes the chiral separation performance. Our findings open up a new possibility for the practical application of enantioseparation at preparative scales.

Fabrication and environmental applications of multifunctional mixed metal-biochar composites (MMBC) from red mud and lignin wastes

This study fabricated a new and multifunctional mixed metal-biochar composites (MMBC) using the mixture of two abundant industrial wastes, red mud (RM) and lignin, via pyrolysis under N₂ atmosphere, and its ability to treat wastewater containing various contaminants was comprehensively evaluated. A porous structure (BET surface area = 100.8 m² g^-1) was created and metallic Fe was formed in the MMBC owing to reduction of Fe oxides present in RM by lignin decomposition products during pyrolysis at 700 °C, which was closely associated with the transformation of liquid to gaseous pyrogenic products. The potential application of the MMBC was investigated for the removal of heavy metals (Pb(II) and Ni(II)), oxyanions (As(V) and Cr(VI)), dye (methylene blue), and pharmaceutical/personal care products (para-nitrophenol and pCBA). The aluminosilicate mineral, metallic Fe, and porous carbon matrix derived from the incorporation of RM and lignin contributed to the multifunctionality (i.e., adsorption, chemical reduction, and catalytic reaction) of the MMBC. Thus, engineered biochar composites synthesized from selected industrial wastes can be a potential candidate for environmental applications.

High efficient adsorption and storage of iodine on S, N co-doped graphene aerogel

High efficient adsorption of radioiodine in nuclear waste has attracted extensive attentions all over the world. In this work, we fabricated sulfur and nitrogen co-doped graphene aerogels (SN-GA) through one-step hydrothermal method, and investigated its iodine adsorption behavior including adsorption kinetics and isotherms in water. Our results reveal that SN-GA exhibits a 3D porous architecture with thiophene-S, oxidized-S, pyridine-N, pyrrole-N and graphite-N co-doped into the sp² carbon frameworks. The adsorption experiment showed SN-GA has a maximum iodine adsorption capacity of 999 mg g^-1 determined by Langmuir isotherm, and the adsorption process could be better described by the pseudo-second-order model.