Abstract
Wet chemical method conventionally requires huge amount of toxic organic solvents to realize the reaction that could lead to a series of health and environmental risks. In this work, solvent-free mechanosynthesis method was employed to synthesize polyethyleneimine (PEI)-grafted polymers of intrinsic microporosity (PIM-1) sorbents to enhance their adsorption properties. Under the rotation speed of 650 rpm, PEI-grafted PIM-1 (i.e., PIM/PEI-650) was successful synthesised as confirmed by the infrared spectroscopy. After the mechano-synthesis, the emergence of tiny holes on the PIM/PEI-650 sorbent increased the surface area. Thanks to the presence of abundant amine groups, the PIM/PEI-650 sorbent exhibited the most effective methyl blue removal and its maximum adsorption capacity was almost three times larger than that of pristine PIM-1. In addition, the PIM/PEI-650 sorbent also showed excellent reusability in five cycles. As a result, solvent-free mechanosynthesis of PEI-grafted PIM-1 shed light into tailoring and tuning novel materials, unlocking potential in varying water treatment processes.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
