Open AccessMetal–Organic Gel-Modulated Synthesis of Hierarchically Porous Molecularly Imprinted Polymers for Efficient Removal of Sildenafil from Water
Author(s) -
Libin Wan,
Huoliang Gao,
Guoxin Yan,
Haidong Gao,
Mantang Chen
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
acs omega
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.779
H-Index - 40
ISSN - 2470-1343
DOI - 10.1021/acsomega.0c06000
Subject(s) - molecularly imprinted polymer , molecular imprinting , adsorption , freundlich equation , template , nip , aqueous solution , porosity , wastewater , polymer , chemical engineering , materials science , chemistry , nanotechnology , organic chemistry , selectivity , catalysis , environmental engineering , environmental science , engineering , composite material
Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) with high specific recognition capability are promising in environmental remediation. However, traditional MIPs usually show poor specific binding affinity toward templates in pure aqueous medium, thus greatly limiting their practical applications in wastewater treatment. Herein, we proposed a facile and versatile method to synthesize a water-compatible hierarchically porous MIP (HP-MIP), in which a metal-organic gel (MOG) was formed by in situ assembly and acted as a removable structural modulator. Remarkably, the integration of the MOG modulator and template imprinting defects significantly improved the specific template binding affinity of HP-MIP in water. The adsorption behavior of HP-MIP fitted well with the heterogeneous Freundlich isotherm, suggesting that HP-MIP possessed greater site heterogeneity to sildenafil than HP-NIP, which confirmed the efficiency of HP-MIP for the removal of sildenafil from water. This approach provides an important pathway to prepare water-compatible porous MIP for efficient removal of highly toxic organic pollutants from wastewater.