Evaluation of a robust, diimide-based, porous organic polymer (POP) as a high-capacity sorbent for representative chemical threats

A previously described porous organic polymer (NU-POP-1) was evaluated against four representative chemical threats: ammonia, cyanogen chloride, sulfur dioxide, and octane. Ammonia, cyanogen chloride, and sulfur dioxide are examples of toxic industrial chemicals (TICs) spanning the range from highly basic to strong-acid forming substances, while octane is used to assess physical adsorption capacity. Experiments were carried out using a microbreakthrough test apparatus, which measures the adsorption capacity at saturation and gives an indication of the strength of adsorption. The NU-POP-1 material exhibited substantial removal capabilities against the majority of the toxic chemicals, with capacities as high as or better than an activated, impregnated carbon. The ability to remove the highly volatile toxic chemicals ammonia and cyanogen chloride was intriguing, as these chemicals typically require reactive moieities for removal. The present work presents a benchmark for toxic chemical removal, and future work will focus on incorporating functional groups targeting the toxic chemicals of interest.