A multipurpose organometallic pyridyl Schiff base-modified poly(divinylbenzene) matrix for the catalytic removal of nitrophenols and polycyclic pollutants

Widespread organic pollutants in wastewater include toxic nitrophenols and polycyclic molecules. Here, we aim to develop a single multipurpose catalyst capable of degrading these structurally dissimilar contaminants by preparing a pyridyl Schiff base-functionalized poly(divinylbenzene) porous organic polymer displaying Ag complexes (PDVB-PA@Ag). PDVB-PA@Ag hydrogenated 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) efficiently to valuable and less toxic 4-aminophenol with an optimized reaction rate of 45.4 × 10 −3 s −1 and apparent activation energy of only 20.1 kJ mol −1 . The same catalyst also readily hydrogenated the isomers of 4-NP as well as nitrophenols with several nitro groups and halogenated nitrophenols with reaction rates ranging from 4.0 to 20.3 × 10 −3 s −1 . In addition, the multiuse PDVB-PA@Ag was capable of carrying out a second type of reaction and degraded multiple polycyclic dyes commonly found in wastewater including auramine O , basic blue 17, aniline blue, and malachite green through Fenton-like oxidation . PDVB-PA@Ag-based degradation processes for the four toxic dyes evaluated were efficient with pseudo-first order reaction rates varying between 1.2 × 10 −2 to 3.7 × 10 −2 min −1 . By coordinating an array of versatile catalytic complexes on an extensive and stable porous support, PDVB-PA@Ag was made highly performant at completing different essential water-cleaning processes. • Ag complexes were immobilized on a PDVB support via pyridyl Schiff bases. • Reusable PDVB-PA@Ag converted efficiently toxic 4-nitrophenol to 4-aminophenol. • PDVB-PA@Ag removed 4-nitrophenol isomers and nitrophenols with multiple -NO 2 groups. • The catalyst and its extensive Ag network also converted halogenated nitrophenols. • PDVB-PA@Ag degraded polycyclic dye pollutants via Fenton-like reactions.