Mesoporous and Hydrophobic Carbon Dot Aggregates as Highly Efficient Sorbents for Emerging Environmental Contaminants

. The iodine capture efficiency remains excellent over five adsorption-desorption cycles, demonstrating potential practical applicability. This efficient iodine capture is primarily attributed to key adsorption sites on the aggregates, particularly nitrogen-containing functionalities and carbonyl groups. The above results highlight hydrophobic surfaces and mesostructures as key to sorption efficiency.