Construction of hydroxyl-functionalized hyper-crosslinked networks from polyimide for highly efficient iodine...

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Environmental Chemistry
• Nuclear Engineering

Background:

• Nuclear energy development presents environmental and health risks.
• Effective removal of radioactive iodine is crucial for safety.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize novel hydroxyl-functionalized hyper-crosslinked polymers (PIHCPs).
• To evaluate the iodine capture capacity and efficiency of PIHCPs.

Main Methods:

• Friedel-Crafts alkylation reaction for polymer synthesis.
• Characterization of polymer morphology, stability, and porosity.
• Iodine adsorption experiments and kinetic analysis.
• Electrostatic potential (ESP) calculations.

Main Results:

• Synthesized PIHCP-1 and PIHCP-2 with micro/mesoporous structures.
• Achieved ultrahigh iodine uptake capacity (6.73 g g⁻¹).
• Demonstrated high iodine removal efficiency (99.7%) from aqueous solutions.
• Confirmed multilayer chemisorption mechanism and hydroxyl group contribution.

Conclusions:

• PIHCPs exhibit excellent iodine capture performance due to high porosity and active sites.
• The materials show good recyclability, maintaining over 91% efficiency after four cycles.
• PIHCPs are promising adsorbents for environmental remediation of iodine.