Pillar[5]arene-triphenylphosphine Cross-Linked Polymers as Dual-Phase Adsorbents for Iodine Sequestration and Water Purification

A series of hyper-cross-linked porous organic polymers was synthesized via Friedel–Crafts polymerization by integrating triphenylphosphine, pillar[5]arene, and aromatic linkers to develop efficient dual-phase adsorbents for iodine sequestration and water purification. All polymers exhibited outstanding iodine vapor adsorption capacities (1727–2573 mg g–1) and high aqueous-phase iodine uptake in KI/I2 solutions (926–2091 mg g–1), demonstrating their versatility across both vapor and aqueous environments. This high adsorption efficiency is attributed to the incorporation of triphenylphosphine, pillar[5]arene units, and the three-dimensional porous structure. Beyond iodine capture, these polymers demonstrated broad-spectrum adsorption, efficiently removing methylene blue, methyl orange, and nitrophenol from water. These results highlight their strong potential for water remediation applications.