Conjugated microporous polymer‐coated sponges for effectively removal of oils and trace aromatic pollutions in water

Abstract

AbstractEfficient elimination of organics or oils in water has become a global concern due to their severely environmental pollution. In this work, two kinds of absorbents based on the doping of conjugated microporous polymers onto sponges (CMPs@sponges) were prepared by in situ Sonogashira‐Hagihara coupling reaction of the monomers in the presence of melamine sponge. The as‐synthesized CMPs@sponges possess excellent thermal and physicochemical stability. Owing to the excellent hydrophobic character of the CMPs@sponges, which exhibit high oil/water separation efficiency through adsorption process. The CMPs@sponges show desirable ability for the adsorption of oils and organic solvents with the values of 24–64 g/g and 13–36 g/g, and the adsorption properties remain unchanged after 10 cycles with excellent cycling stability. Even the CMPs@sponges are immersed in different pH solutions, which still maintain their original superhydrophobicity. In addition, CMPs@sponges can constantly separate and recover oil and organic solvent based on the help of vacuum pump, and the separation efficiency still remained above 95% after 10 repetitions. It was worth noting that the CMPs@sponges can remove not only the organic solvents but also the trace benzene contaminants from water, and with the removal rate of more than 85%. Furthermore, the as‐synthesized CMPs@sponges possess high oil/water separation properties that may be attributed to the physical adsorption, and the π‐π interactions and hydrophobic interactions. Therefore, due to the designable flexibility of CMPs, which make the CMPs‐based novel materials are excepted to an excellent candidate for applications of oil/water separation and water purification.