Post-synthetic sulfonation of resorcinarene-based porous organic polymer for superfast adsorption of diverse organic pollutants

A resorcinarene-based porous organic polymer was synthesized via the Suzuki-Miyaura coupling reaction and then functionalized by chlorosulfonic acid to obtain a sulfonated product named BaPy-SO3H. Characterization results indicate that BaPy-SO3H has porous skeletons, excellent thermal stability, and electronegative surface charges. Remarkably, BaPy-SO3H exhibits superfast rates and reaches adsorption equilibrium within 1 min towards diverse organic pollutants including dyes, herbicides, and antibiotics via electrostatic interactions, pi-pi interactions, and host-guest effects. Especially for Crystal Violet, Malachite Green, and Paraquat, BaPy-SO3H achieves apparent rate constants for a pseudo-second-order model of 31.24, 31.27, and 30.63 g mg-1 min- 1, respectively, which are the highest values among reported adsorbents to the best of our knowledge. Meanwhile, the maximum adsorption capacity of BaPy-SO3H reaches 1850 mg g- 1 for Rhodamine B, 2295 mg g- 1 for Methyl Blue, 1503 mg g- 1 for Crystal Violet, and 1304 mg g- 1 for trimethoprim, surpassing most of the adsorbents reported so far. The above results demonstrate the superior adsorption performance of BaPy-SO3H towards diverse organic pollutants and its potential applications in real-water scenarios.