Microwave-assisted synthesis of mixed-linker covalent organic frameworks enabling tunable and ultrahigh iodine capture

The use of covalent organic frameworks (COFs) for hazardous radioiodine capture has been highly sought after recently. However, the synthesis of high-performance COF adsorbents while circumventing the limitations of traditional solvothermal methods remains largely unexplored. Herein, we for the first time combine microwave-assisted synthesis and mixed-linker strategy to fabricate multivariate COF adsorbents (X% OMe-TFB-BD COFs, X% = 0, 33, 50, 67, and 100 mol%) with varying ratios of benzidine (BD) and 3,3′-dimethoxylbenzidine (BD-OMe) linkers in a rapid and facile manner. Adjusting the BD-OMe/BD mole ratios has led to distinct variations in density, crystallinity, porosity, morphology, and thermal/chemical stability of the resultant COFs, which empowered fine-tuning of the adsorption performance towards static iodine vapor. Remarkably, the 50 % OMe-TFB-BD COF exhibited an ultrahigh iodine adsorption capability of 8.2 g g−1, surpassing those of single-component COFs, mixed-linker COFs with other methoxy content, physically blended mixtures, and most existing COF adsorbents. Moreover, 50 % OMe-TFB-BD COF was recyclable seven times without obvious loss in its adsorption capacity. This work underscores the substantial potential of microwave-assisted mixed-linker strategy as a viable approach for developing multivariate COFs with shortened reaction times, precisely tailored pore environment, and tunable sorption properties, which are of considerable promise for environmental remediation and other niche applications. Enormous efforts have been dedicated to exploring the application of covalent organic frameworks (COFs) in capturing hazardous radioiodine. However, the synthesis of efficient COF adsorbents while overcoming the limitations of traditional solvothermal methods remains largely unexplored. In this study, we present a facile microwave-assisted mixed-linker strategy to afford multivariate COF adsorbents, which exhibited tunable and ultrahigh adsorption performance towards radioiodine vapor. This novel strategy paves a facile, rapid, and engery-efficent avenue to access multivariate COFs tailored for environmental remediation.