Tunable synthesis of the polar modified hyper-cross-linked resins and application to the adsorption

The polar modified hyper-cross-linked resins were synthesized by the suspension polymerization and Friedel-Crafts alkylation reaction, and the effect of the feeding amount of the monomers (N-vinylimidazole and p-vinylbenzyl chloride) on the porosity and polarity were clarified. As the feeding amount of p-vinylbenzyl chloride decreased from 75% to 50% (w/w), the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface area of the resins lowered from 1306 to 436 m²/g, and the pore size distribution showed a large population of pores in micropores stretching to a higher percentage of mesopores. As the feeding amount of N-vinylimidazole increased from 5% to 30% (w/w), the nitrogen content of the resins rose from 0.005% to 3.06% (w/w), and the contact angle decreased from 97±4.2° to 28±2.0°. As a result, the porosity and polarity of the resins could be accurately tuned by adjusting the feeding amount of the monomers, and the different porosity and polarity of these resins endowed them with selective adsorption to benzoic acid and Rhodamine B.