Donor-acceptor structured cationic porous organic polymers for photo-enhanced gold recovery from electronic waste

The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence and large language models has substantially increased the demand for high-performance electronic devices, intensifying the need for efficient gold recovery from electronic waste to support sustainable resource utilization. Herein, a novel donor-acceptor (D-A) structured cationic porous organic polymer (POP), Pyd-Pc-POPs-Br, was rationally designed and fabricated via a facile Menshutkin reaction. The synergistic combination of electrostatic attraction and ion exchange from positively charged pyridinium sites, coordination interactions from macrocyclic phthalocyanine centers, strong light-harvesting capability, and efficient intraframework charge transport endows Pyd-Pc-POPs-Br with rapid adsorption kinetics (>99% removal within 30 min) and an exceptionally uptake capacity of 2262 mg g⁻¹ toward AuCl₄^-. Moreover, the polymer demonstrates excellent selectivity, outstanding recyclability, and effective gold recovery from real electronic-waste leachates. Experimental characterizations combined with density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal that the superior performance originates from the synergistic coupling of site-specific adsorption and D-A-mediated electron transfer, which continuously promotes the reduction of Au(III) and regenerates adsorption sites. This work highlights the advantages of coordinating functional-site design and structure adjustment in developing high-performance adsorbents, offering a promising strategy for ecological protection and resources recycling.