Designing strategically functionalized hybrid porous polymers with octavinylsilsesquioxane/dibenzo[g,p]chrysene/benzo[c]-1,2,5-thiadiazole units for rapid removal of Rhodamine B dye from water

Because of their large surface area and persistent pores that have exceptional adsorption capabilities, porous organic/inorganic polymers (POIPs) with octavinylsilsesquioxane (OVS) units have attracted much interest recently. In this study aimed at removing Rhodamine B (RhB) from wastewater, we utilized OVS nanoparticles synthesized through the Heck coupling process to produce two distinct types: OVS-DBC-PO and OVS-DBC-BT POIPs. OVS and a variety of chemical compounds containing Br, such as tetrabromodibenzo[g,p]chrysene (DBC-Br₄), 2,6-bis(4-bromophenyl)pyridine 1-oxide (PO-Br₂), and 4,7-dibromobenzo[c][1,2,5]thiadiazole (BT-Br₂) were involved in the reactions. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) results revealed that the high thermal decomposition temperature (T_d10) of OVS-DBC-PO and OVS-DBC-BT POIPs were 447 °C and 543 °C, respectively. Additionally, the OVS-POIPs demonstrated significant porosity, with the OVS-DBC-BT POIP exhibiting the highest specific BET surface area (SA_BET) of 386 m² g⁻¹. OVS-DBC-PO and OVS-DBC-BT POIPs exhibit exceptional porosity character. Based on dye adsorption measurements, RhB interacts with functional groups on the OVS-POIP samples' surface and penetrates their pores, enhancing the number of contact sites and the effectiveness of adsorption. Both OVS-DBC-PO and OVS-DBC-BT POIPs demonstrated maximum adsorption capacities of 65 and 66 mg g⁻¹, respectively, at a pH of 4 and a temperature of 25 °C. As a result, OVS-DBC-PO and OVS-DBC-BT POIP materials could be viewed as efficient absorbents for removing RhB from aqueous solutions and this study presents a novel way of making POIPs, which are adsorbents used in the filtration and treatment of water.