Diphenylphosphine-Substituted Ferrocene/Silsesquioxane-Based Hybrid Porous Polymers as Highly Efficient Adsorbents for Water Treatment.

The study describes the synthesis of two porous hybrid polymers (abbreviated as DPPF-HPP and DPPOF-HPP) from the Friedel-Crafts reaction of octavinylsilsesquioxane with 1,1'-bis(diphenylphosphine)ferrocene (DPPF) and 1,1'-bis(diphenylphosphine oxide)ferrocene (DPPOF), respectively. DPPF-HPP and DPPOF-HPP possess surface areas of about 890 and 780 m2 g-1, respectively, as well as similar pore structures of the coexisting micropores and mesopores. They are excellent materials for high adsorption of different dyes with adsorption capacities of 2280 mg g-1 for Congo Red and 1440 mg g-1 for Crystal Violet. DPPF-HPP also shows a strong affinity to adsorb Hg2+ ions (300 mg g-1). These materials show no sign of degradation under repeated cycles and thus offer potential for wastewater treatment.