All-in-One: Sensing, Adsorptive Removal, and Photocatalytic Degradation of Nitro-Explosive Contaminants by Microporous Polycarbazole Polymer

Abstract

A highly multitasking 3D polycarbazole based microporous organic polymer (ACzMOP) is rationally prepared via a low-cost FeCl3 catalyzed polymerization route utilizing a newly developed Td -symmetric adamantane core tetracarbazolic monomer. The nitrogen-rich ACzMOP integrated with photo-redox active electron-rich pi-conjugated polycarbazole modules featuring large BET surface area of 1568 m (2 )g (-1), pore volume of 1.58 cc g (-1), excellent physicochemical stability, and strong fluorescence in both aqueous and solid phases. Aqueous suspension including ACzMOP coated paper strip is highly responsive to the aqueous solution of nitroaromatics especially 2,4-dinitrotoluene, an unavoidable intermediate of 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene contamination, with ultra-trace level detection capability (up to 0.32 ppb). The thin layer of solid polymer is capable of detecting nitroaromatic vapors, especially nitrotoluenes in a very sensitive manner. Moreover, the polymer exhibit record uptake of nitrotoluenes and nitrophenols with maximum uptake capability up to 510 mg g (-1 ) setting a new benchmark among known porous materials. The polymer efficiently degrades toxic 4-nitrophenol to the value-added 4-aminophenol precursor (TOF = 0.143 h (-1)) via photocatalytic pathway. For the very first time, ACzMOP as a single material system is capable of efficiently sensing and removing all sorts of nitroaromatic contaminations with regenerability under mild washing/vacuum conditions.