Facile synthesis and study of functional porous organic polyaminals with ultrahigh adsorption capacities and fast removal rate for rhodamine B dye

Abstract

In this work, a series of low-cost novel porous organic polyaminals (POAs) were constructed through a one-pot catalyst-free Schiff-base condensation reaction with simple triazine-based multiamines and commercial aromatic aldehydes. These resulting porous polymer materials exhibited BET surface areas of 470–814 m2 g−1 and hierarchical pore distributions in the range of 0.58–1.63 nm. Owing to their high surface areas, hierarchical pore distributions, nitrogen-rich skeletons, and favorable water dispersibility accompanied by functional COOH and OH groups, POAs displayed high adsorption capacities and fast adsorption process of rhodamine B (RhB) for 1851, 1810, and 2161 mg g−1 of POA-Ph, POA-OH, and POA-COOH. These RhB adsorption capacities exceeded those of most of the reported POP materials. The theory simulation was introduced to comprehend the host-guest interaction adjustment between POAs and RhB molecules. Meanwhile, the perfect dynamic column adsorption modeling experiments revealed the high-efficiency adsorption separation abilities of POAs approaching actual application situations. These excellent adsorption properties made POAs good candidates for potential applications in water treatment. This study provides useful guidance for the design and preparation of low-cost and highly efficient POP dye adsorption materials.