Supramolecular Crosslinked Polymer for Efficient Organic Dye Removal from Aqueous Solution

Removal of organic dyes from aqueous solution has attracted considerable attention in the field of environmental science and for industrial application. Herein, a crosslinked pillar[5]arene polymer (Ru-P5C) is synthesized by a click reaction between a hydrophobic azide-modified pillar[5]arene (N-3-P5) and a hydrophilic alkyne-modified Ru derivative. The synthesized material can efficiently remove various anionic organic dyes from aqueous solution upon irradiation at 450 nm in the air. The numerous positive charges on the nanoparticles facilitate adsorption of the dyes, and Ru-catalyzed photolysis, promoted by the hydrophobic environment of the nanoparticles, leads to their degradation. The removal efficiency after approximate to 25 min exceeds 95%, which is much higher than the removal efficiencies of TiO2 (P25), BiOBr, and Ru(bipy)(3)Cl-2. Moreover, the polymer not only exhibits good regeneration ability but also shows excellent performance for dye removal under irradiation from sunlight as well as in the wastewater system containing a number of dyes.