Exploration of iodine adsorption performance of pyrene-based two-dimensional covalent organic frameworks†

Abstract

Radioiodine (mainly ¹²⁹I and ¹³¹I) is known to be dangerous nuclear waste due to its high toxicity, fast mobility and long radioactive half-life. As an emerging class of novel porous organic polymers, covalent organic frameworks (COFs) have demonstrated tremendous application potential in the field of radioactive iodine capture because of their high specific surface area and tunable pore structure. Herein, three π-conjugated pyrene-based COFs, namely PyTTA-BPDA-COF, PyTTA-BPY-COF, and PyTTA-BT-COF, have been successfully prepared and used as highly efficient adsorbents for iodine capture. The experimental results show that the three COFs displayed excellent adsorption performance, with adsorption capacity of 5.03, 4.46, and 3.97 g g⁻¹ for PyTTA-BPDA-COF, PyTTA-BPY-COF, and PyTTA-BT-COF, respectively. Additionally, the release rate of iodine-loaded COFs in methanol solution and recyclability were also impressive, demonstrating their potential for practical applications. The mechanism investigation reveals that both imine linkage and π-conjugated structure of the COFs may contribute to their high iodine adsorption capability. This work is instructive as a guide for designing and synthesizing COFs as a solid-phase adsorbent for iodine uptake.