Synthesis of the polyethylene polyamine-based flexible covalent organic frameworks and their application for capturing and fluorescence sensing iodine

Effective uptake of radioactive steam waste in the fission process is of great vital for the safe use of nuclear energy. Nitrogen-rich polyethylenepolyamine provides effective adsorption sites for the capture of iodine, but triethylenediamine (TEDA)-impregnated activated carbon has the disadvantages of easy sublimation, poor safety, and poor regeneration capacity. Herein, we report five polyethylene polyamine-based (PEPA-based) flexible COFs for the first time which were synthesized by Schiff base polymerization reactions with the flexible knot [2,4,6-tris(4-formylphenoxy)-1,3,5-triazine (TPT–3–CHO)] and flexible linkers (PEPA). The PEPA-based flexible COFs possess large surface areas and strong iodine adsorption capacity, which can be reused. With the increase of the linker lengths, their BET-surface areas decreases, but their adsorption of iodine increase. When dispersed in polar organic solvents, the PEPA-based flexible COFs can fluorescently sense iodine through the electron transfer mechanism and the energy transfer mechanism.