Synthesis of hyper-crosslinked polymers containing thiol and amino groups for efficient adsorption of iodine

With the extensive utilization of nuclear energy, development of the efficient and low-cost adsorbent for the disposal of nuclear waste, especially for radioactive iodine pollutant has become increasingly significant. In this article, three kinds of novel hyper-crosslinked polymers, HCP-ATPs, were synthesized by using 4-aminothiophenol (4-ATP) and formaldehyde dimethyl acetal (FDA) as the building blocks. The resulting polymers were rich in both of thiol (–SH) and amino (–NH₂) groups, possessing a high affinity for iodine molecules. Adsorption experiments revealed that HCP-ATPs possessed highly efficient adsorption of iodine whatever from iodine vapor, iodine in organic solutions and iodine in aqueous solutions despite that they did not display advantageous specific surface areas and pore volumes. This work provided a facile and cost-effective strategy to the synthesis of novel adsorbents for iodine adsorption.