β-cyclodextrin-scaffolded crosslinked poly(ionic liquid)s for ultrafast removal of multiple pollutants: Insight into adsorption performance and mechanism

The design of highly rapid and efficient cross-linked polymer materials is essential for developing adsorption of pollutant methods based on cyclodextrin to replace currently used slow trapping activated carbons. It is rarely possible to achieve rapid and complete adsorption at high concentrations, even though available adsorbents have developed high adsorption capacity. Herein, a beta-cyclodextrin cross-linked poly(ionic liquid) adsorbents (CD-PILs), was facilely fabricated through one-pot radical polymerization for fast, high-capacity and selective removal of pollutants from water, including organic dyes, pharmaceutical and personal care products, heavy metal ions as well as microbial contamination. It could be completely removed from water within a short period ranging from seconds to minutes at a wide range of high-load anionic dyes (1 mM). Theoretical maximum adsorption capacity of CD-PILs for CR, MO, DS, SD, K2Cr2O7, and CA is 2058.2, 1338.6, 903.7, 1661.4, 878.2, and 343.6 mg/g, respectively. The adsorption rate of ionic CD-PILs superior than those of most of reported synthetic adsorbent materials with the highest adsorption capacity so far, especially for heavy metals. Moreover, after being regenerated five times, the water-remediation performance of CD-PILs remained almost the same as fresh ones, demonstrating the great potential of CD-PILs in industrial water remediation.