Facile Synthesis of Silsesquioxane-Based Hybrid Crosslinked Polymers via One-Step Amine-Ene Reaction for Efficient Adsorption of Various Pollutants

Abstract

The rapid advancement of industrial production has led to an increase in water pollutants, posing a significant threat to public health. With the deepening of research on pollutant adsorbents. The application of silsesquioxane-based cross-linked polymer networks in water pollution treatment has gradually attracted people‘s attention. This study introduces two new crosslinked hybrid network, PCS-OB and PCS-OP, which were created through one-step amine-ene reaction between octa(aminophenyl) silsesquioxane (OAPS) and bismaleimide or N, N′-1,3-phenylenedimaleimide. The synthesized hybrid networks were characterized using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface area analysis, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. The successful synthesis of the material is proved. PCS-OB and PCS-OP exhibited remarkable efficiency in the adsorption and removal of contaminants such as antibiotics, dyes, and iodine from wastewater. The maximum adsorbents for Rhodamine B (RhB), iodine vapor and berberine hydrochloride (BCH) were 1069 mg g⁻¹, 1590 mg g⁻¹ and 294 mg g⁻¹, respectively. In conclusion, this work proves that PCS-OB and PCS-OP have broad application prospects in pollutant treatment.