Iodine capture in porous organic polymers and metal-organic frameworks materials

Enrichment of radioactive iodine in the waste of nuclear industries threatens the health of humans, and efficient capture of iodine has attracted a great deal of attention in recent years. Porous organic polymers (POPs) and metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), new classes of porous materials, act as outstanding candidate adsorbent materials in this field based on their high surface areas, permanent tunable porosities, controllable structures, high thermal/chemical stabilities, versatility in molecular design and potential for post-synthetic modification. Herein, this review focuses on the research progress of the two kinds of porous materials POPs and MOFs for highly efficient iodine capture. We analysis and discuss some valid strategies for enhancing iodine uptakes including increasing surface areas and pore volumes, using organic building units with unique configurations and functions, introducing chemical functional groups to provide high-enthalpy binding sites, further processing of POPs and MOFs materials and so on. Indeed, there are many special structural and functional features found in the porous POPs and MOFs materials which make them really unique and merit further exploration. And we expect to see their usage grow as the field progresses.