B–O Dynamic Covalent Bond-Enabled Polyphenol-Mediated Macroporous Resin Efficiently Separating Boron Isotopes

The separation of boron isotopes (10B/11B) is challenging due to the much smaller relative mass difference between the 10B- and 11B-bearing compounds. Herein, we report an efficient separation of 10B by polyphenol-mediated macroporous resin (BWT-MR). The phenolic hydroxyl groups of BWT-MR chelate with B of B(OH)3 into tetrahedral sp3 hybridized B-phenolic hydroxyl complexes. Then the isotope exchange reaction between 10B of B(OH)3 and 11B in 11B-phenolic hydroxyl complexes is facilitated for the breaking of the B–O dynamic covalent bond of 11B-phenolic hydroxyl complexes and rebuilding of the B–O dynamic covalent bond of 10B-phenolic hydroxyl complexes, leading to the enrichment of 10B on BWT-MR. The corresponding single-stage separation factor is high up to 1.043. Moreover, the flow-through separation in the fixed bed enables experimental validation for practical industrial applications, achieving a high 10B abundance (21.64%). This work paves the way for the exploitation of more efficient enrichment of 10B for sustainable nuclear energy and biomedical research.