Exploring the interaction of high-performance triazine-based porous organic polymers with antibiotics and carbon dioxide

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Antibiotic contamination, antimicrobial resistance and rising CO 2 emissions represent urgent global crises demanding disruptive materials solutions. This study reports two novel multifunctional porous organic polymers (amine-linked T-POP4 and imine-linked IT-POP1), synthesized through simple, scalable Schiff-base polycondensation reactions, for a versatile approach integrating antibiotic adsorption with efficient CO 2 removal. These highly stable materials exhibit low density, hierarchical meso-macro porosity, positive surface charge up to pH = 8–10, and particle sizes from 170 nm (T-POP4) to over 2000 nm (IT-POP1). Firstly, monocomponent adsorption assays revealed that IT-POP1 achieved up to 96 % removal of sulfamethazine (SMT) and maximum adsorption capacity of (0.56 ± 0.05) mmol g −1 , surpassing T-POP4 (≤91 % and (0.34 ± 0.02) mmol g −1 ), with equilibrium being reached within 200 min for both materials. Next, competitive heptacomponent adsorption was assessed, showing that IT-POP1 efficiently removed a mixture of seven antibiotics at μM level, while both polymers exhibited high selectivity toward sulfonamide antibiotics. Strong activity over five reuse cycles and in wastewater matrices was proved, confirming practical and real-world applicability of the materials. Molecular dynamics simulations were further applied to understand mechanisms guiding adsorption, revealing that IT-POP1's rigid, large-pore structure enhances van der Waals and polar interactions, promoting multilayer antibiotic adsorption and outperforming other POPs. Conversely, T-POP4, with greater porosity, surface area and amine density, showed superior CO 2 capture via a BET-type multilayer physical adsorption mechanism. Overall, this work introduces dual-function POPs that provide an integrated, tunable, and scalable solution for simultaneously tackling antibiotic and CO 2 pollution, advancing next-generation multifunctional adsorbents.