Novel phenothiazine-based hyper-cross-linked porous polymers containing N, S double electrically rich atoms for efficient iodine capture

Novel phenothiazine-based hyper-cross-linked porous polymers (PZ-HCPs) containing N, S double electron-rich atoms were synthesized using Friedel-Crafts alkylation reaction. Nitrogen adsorption-desorption test showed that the specific surface areas (SBET) of the PZ-HCPs were between 131 m2 g−1 and 209 m2 g−1. In addition, the π-electron-conjugated structure and the presence of N and S electron-rich heteroatoms in the PZ-HCPs facilitated its high iodine capture ability in both iodine solution and iodine vapor. Meanwhile, adsorption mechanism studies showed that the adsorbed iodine in the adsorbent existed as I3– and I5– . The adsorption behavior of PZ-HCP-1:4 for iodine conformed to the pseudo-second-order (PSO) kinetic model and Freundlich isotherm model. This work supplies a strategy for synthesizing HCPs as adsorbents for the treatment of radioactive iodine in nuclear waste.