Preparation and characterization of micro-mesoporous hypercrosslinked polymeric adsorbent and its application for the removal of VOCs

The novel hypercrosslinked polymeric adsorbents with well-developed microporous and mesoporous structures were synthesized through suspension polymerization and post-crosslinking process. Characterization of the samples was determined by N2 adsorption-desorption isotherms, SEM images, and fractal dimensions. The results show that the synthesized samples can possess a high BET surface area (∼1300 m2/g) with large micropore and mesopore volumes (0.28 mL/g and 1.25 mL/g, respectively). The adsorption/desorption behavior of n-hexane on the newly synthesized adsorbents was evaluated and compared with commercial hypercrosslinked polymeric adsorbent (NDA-150). At low relative pressure (p/p0 = 0.04), the newly synthesized adsorbents exhibited similar adsorption capacities to NDA-150, however, they had higher adsorption capacities than NDA-150 at high relative pressure (p/p0 = 0.8). Moreover, n-hexane can be desorbed more efficiently from the newly synthesized adsorbents than NDA-150.

► Hypercrosslinked resins with well-developed micro-mesopore were synthesized.
► New resins had a good VOCs adsorption capacity at low and high relative pressure.
► VOCs can be desorbed efficiently from the newly synthesized resins.