In-situ construction of different Lewis acids in hyper-cross-linked polymer as water-resistant adsorbent for efficient Hg0 removal

Hyper-cross-linked polymers (HCP) are regarded as promising materials for limiting gaseous Hg0 emissions. However, the protracted synthesis period and the complicated post-modification process hinder practical use in gaseous pollution control. Herein, a facile in-situ catalytic method for converting waste plastic into Lewis acid-embedded HCP is proposed to overcome these drawbacks. Various Lewis acids could serve as catalysts for HCP skeleton formation as well as Hg0-affinitive species. The resulting HCP-Metal samples exhibited high demercuration (de-Hg) ability (∼100 % in 120 min) and excellent water resistance (10 % H2O), greatly surpassing those of state-of-the-art adsorbents. Experiments and theoretical calculations confirmed that Hg0 bonding configurations include Hg0 over Cl-monodentate, Cl-bridged sites and metal-top sites. The closer energy level of electron donor orbital for FeCl3/CuCl2 corresponds to excellent De-Hg performance. This exploration of the use of different Lewis acids in the in-situ catalytic process offers promising applications in environmental remediation and energy storage.