Efficient and Selective Removal of Iodine in Aqueous Media Using Morphology-Controlled Porous Hyper-Cross-Linked Polymers

Hyper-cross-linked polymers (HCPs) have demonstrated great potential for capture, catalysis, drug delivery, and energy storage and have attracted extensive research interest. Nevertheless, tuning their nanoscale morphology remains a challenge. Herein, we constructed a series of HCPs (HCP[H a P b ]) with various morphologies (nanospheres, nanorod-like, and flower-like nanostructures) by controlling the molar ratios of monomers and hexakis(benzylthio)benzene quality. In addition, HCP[H 200 P 3 ] with rich nitrogen and sulfur atoms showed a fast adsorption rate and high adsorption capacity for I 3 – in aqueous media. The adsorption rate of HCP[H 200 P 3 ] reached 98% within 5 min at a liquid/solid ratio of 1 mL mg –1, and a saturated adsorption capacity of 1.388 g g –1 was obtained at a liquid/solid ratio of 30 mL mg –1 . Additionally, flow-through adsorption experiments revealed that an impressive removal rate was obtained by HCP[H 200 P 3 ] at a flow rate of 1.0 mL min –1 . More importantly, HCP[H 200 P 3 ] could selectively capture I 3 – in the presence of competing anions. This work proved that the adsorbent HCP[H 200 P 3 ] was highly selective and has good prospects for practical application in the removal of I 3 – .