title: Stable Covalent Organic Frameworks for Exceptional Mercury Removal from Aqueous Solutions.
abstract: The pre-designable porous structures found in covalent organic frameworks (COFs) render them attractive as a molecular platform for addressing environmental issues such as removal of toxic heavy metal ions from water. However, a rational structural design of COFs in this aspect has not been explored. Here we report the rational design of stable COFs for Hg(II) removal through elaborate structural design and control over skeleton, pore size, and pore walls. The resulting framework is stable under strong acid and base conditions, possesses high surface area, has large mesopores, and contains dense sulfide functional termini on the pore walls. These structural features work together in removing Hg(II) from water and achieve a benchmark system that combines capacity, efficiency, effectivity, applicability, selectivity, and reusability. These results suggest that COFs offer a powerful platform for tailor-made structural design to cope with various types of pollution.
authors.affiliation: Field of Environment and Energy, School of Materials Science, Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology , 1-1 Asahidai, Nomi 923-1292, Japan.
authors.forename: Ning
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Field of Environment and Energy, School of Materials Science, Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology , 1-1 Asahidai, Nomi 923-1292, Japan.
authors.forename: Lipeng
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhai
authors.affiliation: Field of Environment and Energy, School of Materials Science, Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology , 1-1 Asahidai, Nomi 923-1292, Japan.
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Field of Environment and Energy, School of Materials Science, Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology , 1-1 Asahidai, Nomi 923-1292, Japan.
authors.forename: Donglin
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-3785-1330
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Jiang