Novel Sulfur-Containing Porous Organic Polymer as a Nanotrap for Rapid Removal of Mercury(II) from Environmental Waters

A novel porous organic polymer with thioether-functionalized succinimide (TS-POP) through radical copolymerization as a facile, metal-free, and cost-effective strategy for Hg2+ removal from aqueous solution is presented. Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy and powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) were used to confirm the structure, while morphology, porosity, and physicochemical properties were determined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), N2 adsorption/desorption isotherm, and thermogravimetric analysis. Due to the presence of thioether functional groups in the polymer backbone together with the hierarchical porosity, TS-POP adsorbed Hg2+ ions with an excellent uptake capacity (833 mg g–1) and exhibited rapid adsorption kinetics. The adsorption process of Hg2+ ions over TS-POP is better described with Langmuir and pseudo-second-order models. Also, TS-POP showed very good selectivity for Hg2+ uptake among various examined metal ions (Hg2+, Cd2+, Zn2+, Ni2+, Fe3+, Ca2+, Mg2+, Ba2+, and Na+) from aqueous media. The extraordinary physicochemical stability, hierarchical porosity, possibility of large-scale preparation, superior selectivity, and exceptional recyclability make TS-POP a perfect candidate for Hg2+ removal from aqueous solutions in practical applications.