Fluorinated Conjugated Microporous Polymers Based on Pillar[n]arenes for Removal of Water Pollutants and Their Cation Selective Adsorption

Organic dyes are widely used in many applications. However, the leakage of organic dyes into the natural environment has become a severe and worldwide problem owing to their high toxicity and nonbiodegradability. Therefore, the development of effective removal technologies for organic dyes is required. In this article, we report the synthesis and adsorption properties of highly fluorinated conjugated microporous polymers based on pillar[n]arenes. The polymers exhibited large Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface areas of up to 1063 m² g⁻¹ and selective adsorptive removal of cationic organic dyes from aqueous solutions. Comparison with the nonfluorinated polymers indicated that the adsorption mechanism mainly relies on the fluorine-cation electrostatic interaction. The maximum adsorption capacity reached 313 mg g⁻¹ for crystal violet, which is higher than those of conventional adsorbents. Additionally, the fluorinated polymers could function as proton channels when they were embedded into lipid membranes.