Hydroxy-functionalized hyper-cross-linked ultra-microporous organic polymers for selective CO2 capture at room temperature

Efficient removal of uranium (VI) from water by a hyper-cross-linked polymer adsorbent modified with polyethylenimine via phosphoramidate linkers

Practical adsorbents with high efficiency are essential to effectively treating wastewater. Herein, a novel porous uranium adsorbent (PA-HCP) having a considerable amount of amine and phosphoryl groups was designed and synthesized by grafting polyethyleneimine (PEI) on a hyper-cross-linked fluorene-9-bisphenol skeleton via phosphoramidate linkers. Furthermore, it was used to treat uranium contamination in the environment. PA-HCP exhibited a large specific surface area (up to 124 m2/g) and a pore diameter of 2.5 nm. Batch uranium adsorptions on PA-HCP were investigated methodically. PA-HCP demonstrated a uranium sorption capacity of >300 mg/g in the pH range of 4-10 (C0 = 60 mg/L, T = 298.15 K), with its maximum capacity reaching 573.51 mg/g at pH = 7. The uranium sorption process obeyed the pseudo-second-order model and fitted well with the Langmuir isothermal. In the thermodynamic experiments, uranium sorption on PA-HCP was revealed to be an endothermic, spontaneous process. Even in the presence of competing metal ions, PA-HCP exhibited excellent sorption selectivity for uranium. Additionally, excellent recyclability can be achieved after six cycles. Based on FT-IR and XPS measurements, both the PO and -NH2 (and/or -NH-) groups on PA-HCP contributed to efficient uranium adsorption as a result of the strong coordination between these groups and uranium. Furthermore, the high hydrophilicity of the grafted PEI improved the dispersion of the adsorbents in water and facilitated uranium sorption. These findings suggest that PA-HCP can be used as an efficient and economical sorbent to remove U(VI) from wastewater.

Hydroxy-Functionalized Hypercrosslinked Polymers (HCPs) as Dual Phase Radioactive Iodine Scavengers: Synergy of Porosity and Functionality

Large-scale nuclear power plant production of iodine radionuclides (129 I, 131 I) pose huge threat in the events of nuclear disaster. Effective removal of radioiodine from nuclear waste is one of the most critical challenge because of the drawbacks of state-of-the-art adsorbents such as high cost, low uptake capacity and non-recyclability. Herein, two hydroxy-functionalized (-OH) hypercrosslinked polymers (HCPs), namely HCP-91 and HCP-92, have been synthesized and employed towards capture of iodine. High chemical stability along with synergistic harmony of high porosity and functionality of these materials makes them suitable candidates for capture of iodine from both vapor phase and water medium. Moreover, both the HCPs showed superior iodine removal performance from water in terms of fast kinetics and high removal efficiency (2.9 g g-1 and 2.49 g g-1 for HCP-91 and HCP-92 respectively). The role of functionality (-OH groups) and porosity has been established with the help of HCP-91, HCP-92 and non-functionalized biphenyl HCP for the efficient capture of I3 - ions from water. In addition, both HCPs exhibited excellent selectivity and recyclability towards triiodide ions, rendering the potential of these materials towards real-time applications. Lastly, Density functional theoretical studies revealed key insights and corroborate well with the experimental findings.

Synthesis of phosphorylated hyper-cross-linked polymers and their efficient uranium adsorption in water

Uranium (U) is hazardous and radioactive, wastewater containing U(VI) should be treated before being discharged. Here, two novel uranium adsorbents, phosphorylated hyper-cross-linked bisphenol A (PHCP-1) and fluorene-9-bisphenol (PHCP-2) were separately synthesized via Friedel-Crafts reaction followed by phosphorylation using phosphorus oxychloride. PHCPs had a BET surface area (up to 564 m²/g) with pore sizes of 2.2-2.8 nm. These adsorbents were used for the first time for uranium adsorption from water and demonstrated outstanding adsorption performance. PHCP-2 had a great uranium adsorption capacity (297.14 mg/g) and a very fast sorption rate (85% removal rate within 5 min). The adsorption data were well fitted with Freundlich isotherm and the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. PHCPs displayed selective adsorption capacity for U(VI) from solution that including a variety of competing metal ions. The reusability was confirmed through three regeneration cycles. Based on a series of spectroscopic analyses, the mechanism of action between PHCPs and U(VI) is primarily derived from the complex between phosphate functional groups and U (VI). The sorption performance of PHCPs is attributed to their huge specific surface area and the strong complex between phosphate groups and U(VI). These findings suggest that PHCPs could be useful in the effective adsorption of uranium from water.

Effective carbon dioxide sorption by using phyllosilicate anchored poly(quaternary-ammoniumhydroxidemethyl styrene) nanocomposites

Polymers are highly promising materials for capturing carbon dioxide (CO2), a greenhouse gas. Hence in this work, we prepared phyllosilicate supported mesoporous polymer via reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerisation, which is the one among the controlled radical polymerisation. The mesoporous material anchored on dodecanethiol trithiocarbonate acts as a chain transfer agent (CTA) for the polymerisation of chloromethyl styrene and further conversion to quaternary ammonium compound which is effective to trap CO2 using tertiary amine. The synthesised porous phyllosilicate/polymer nanocomposites have been characterised by using various analytical tools. The CO2 sorption experiments were carried out by passing CO2 onto the synthesised porous phyllosilicate/polymer nanocomposites. The sorption kinetics was monitored by X-Ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) spectra in the presence of carbonate were obtained by reaction of quaternary ammonium hydroxide and CO2. The phyllosilicate anchored macromolecular CTA (macro-CTA) and the surface-initiated polymer nanocomposites encompassed apparent surface areas of 94.5 and 26.8 m2 g-1, respectively. In addition, the total pore volumes calculated for the macro-CTA and polymer were found to be 0.27 and 0.095 cm3g-1, while the average pore sizes were 14.24 and 11.46 nm, respectively. The CO2 sorption capacity of the phyllosilicate/polymer nanocomposites, monitored at different temperatures, is the fastest for 25°C but slower for the sample treated at 50°C which may due to the dipole and quadrupole interaction.

Carbazole-functionalized hyper-cross-linked polymers for CO2 uptake based on Friedel-Crafts polymerization on 9-phenylcarbazole

To systematically explore the effects of the synthesis conditions on the porosity of hyper-cross-linked polymers (HCPs), a series of 9-phenylcarbazole (9-PCz) HCPs (P1-P11) has been made by changing the molar ratio of cross-linker to monomer, the reaction temperature T 1, the used amount of catalyst and the concentration of reactants. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy was utilized to characterize the structure of the obtained polymers. The TG analysis of the HCPs showed good thermal stability. More importantly, a comparative study on the porosity revealed that: the molar ratio of cross-linker to monomer was the main influence factor of the BET specific surface area. Increasing the reaction temperature T 1 or changing the used amount of catalyst could improve the total pore volume greatly but sacrificed a part of the BET specific surface area. Fortunately changing the concentration of reactants could remedy this situation. Slightly changing the concentration of reactants could simultaneously obtain a high surface area and a high total pore volume. The BET specific surface areas of P3 was up to 769 m2 g-1 with narrow pore size distribution and the CO2 adsorption capacity of P11 was up to 52.4 cm3 g-1 (273 K/1.00 bar).

Synthesis of Bis(indolyl)methanes Using Hyper-Cross-Linked Polyaromatic Spheres Decorated with Bromomethyl Groups as Efficient and Recyclable Catalysts

Highly uniform and hyper-cross-linked polyphenanthrene and polypyrene microspheres were synthesized by Friedel-Crafts bromomethylation of phenanthrene (Phn) and pyrene (Py) in the presence of zinc bromide as a catalyst, followed by self-polymerization of bromomethylated Phn and Py. The resultant 3-D carbon microspheres consisting of micro-, meso-, and macropores bear peripheral unreacted bromomethyl groups, which are directly utilized as catalysts to efficiently promote the electrophilic substitution reaction of indoles with aldehydes to yield a variety of bis(indolyl)methanes. The important features of this catalysis are easy catalyst synthesis, high product yields, environmental benignity, short reaction time, broad substrate scope, use of nontoxic solvents, and recyclability.

Enhanced carbon dioxide capture in an indole-based microporous organic polymer via synergistic effects of indoles and their adjacent carbonyl groups

A carbonyl-functionalized indole-based microporous organic polymer (PKIN) was designed and synthesized in the presence of the FeCl₃ catalyst by a facile direct oxidative coupling reaction.