Highly Efficient and Reversible Iodine Capture in Hexaphenylbenzene-Based Conjugated Microporous Polymers

The effective and safe capture and storage of radioactive iodine (129I or 131I) is of significant importance during nuclear waste storage and nuclear energy generation. Here we present detailed evidence of highly efficient and reversible iodine capture in hexaphenylbenzene-based conjugated microporous polymers (HCMPs), synthesized via Buchwald–Hartwig (BH) cross-coupling of a hexakis(4-bromophenyl)benzene (HBB) core and aryl diamine linkers. The HCMPs present moderate surface areas up to 430 m2 g–1, with narrow pore size distribution and uniform ultramicropore sizes of less than 1 nm. Porous properties are controlled by the strut lengths and rigidities of linkers, while porosity and uptake properties can be tuned by changing the oxidation state of the HCMPs. The presence of a high number of amine functional groups combined with microporosity provides the HCMPs with extremely high iodine affinity with uptake capacities up to 336 wt %, which is to the best of our knowledge the highest reported to date. Two ...