Tripodal receptor cross-linked polymer as a promising adsorbent for iodine vapor capture and adsorption from water

A cross-linked tripodal receptor polymer was synthesized using a Friedel-Crafts polymerization reaction which showed an iodine vapor capture capacity of 2.47 g g−1 at 80 °C with remarkable iodine adsorption per unit BET surface area of 86 wt/(m2/g). UV–Vis spectral analysis confirmed that the polymer adsorbent rapidly adsorbs iodine from water. Importantly, the polymer exhibited reversible iodine adsorption allowing the polymer to be reused several times without losing the adsorption efficiency. We also investigated the adsorption capability of the synthesized polymer TPP as a filtration material for practical applications. Through dynamic adsorption experiments using a syringe pump setup, we demonstrated that a mere 40 mg of the TPP polymer effectively purifies 20 ml of a 2.5 mM aqueous iodine solution. Our findings underscore the exceptional adsorption efficiency of the TPP polymer, as evidenced by the successful removal of iodine molecules from the solution. These results not only highlight the potential of the TPP polymer for its utility in environmental remediation applications particularly for the treatment of effluents from nuclear reactors.