Hierarchically micro-mesoporous β-cyclodextrin polymers used for ultrafast removal of micropollutants from water

Zhanghui Wang; Fengchao Cui; Youwen Pan; Lixin Hou; Bin Zhang; Yunqi Li; Liping Zhu

doi:10.1016/j.carbpol.2019.03.021

Hierarchically micro-mesoporous β-cyclodextrin polymers used for ultrafast removal of micropollutants from water

Carbohydr Polym. 2019 Jun 1:213:352-360. doi: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2019.03.021. Epub 2019 Mar 7.

Authors

Zhanghui Wang¹, Fengchao Cui², Youwen Pan¹, Lixin Hou¹, Bin Zhang¹, Yunqi Li², Liping Zhu³

Affiliations

¹ MOE Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Synthesis and Functionalization, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China.
² Key Laboratory of Synthetic Rubber & Laboratory of Advanced Power Sources, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry (CIAC), Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130022, China.
³ MOE Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Synthesis and Functionalization, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China. Electronic address: lpzhu@zju.edu.cn.

PMID: 30879679
DOI: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2019.03.021

Abstract

Persistent organic pollutants, including plasticizers, pesticides, pharmaceuticals and endocrine disrupters, have posed a serious threat to water safety and human health. Addressing this problem calls out new materials of purifying water with high efficiency. Here, a series of cross-linked β-cyclodextrin polymers (β-CDPs) with hierarchically micro-mesoporous structure and high surface area were first synthesized by introducing polymer of intrinsic microporosity (PIM) and used for adsorptive removal of organic micropollutants from water. The chemical compositions and porous structures of the obtained β-CDPs were characterized in detail. Adsorption data showed that the quasi-second-order adsorption rate constant and maximal adsorption capacity of β-CDPs towards bisphenol A was up to 3.88 g mg^-1 min^-1 and 502 mg g^-1, almost 2.6 and 5.7 times as large as those of the state-of-the-art porous β-CD polymer, respectively. Further, hierarchically porous β-CDPs also demonstrated ultrafast adsorption rates and high adsorption capacities towards various organic pollutants under the synergistic effect of micropores and mesopores. In addition, β-CDPs were easily regenerated by simple ethanol cleaning and kept high removal ability over 5 cycles. The virtues of extraordinary adsorption ability and convenient regeneration offer β-CDPs potential applications in water purification.

Keywords: Hierarchically micro-mesopores; High adsorption capacity; Organic micropollutants; Ultrafast adsorption rate; β-Cyclodextrin polymers.