Fabrication of Imidazolium Porous Organic Polymer and MOF-808 Composites for Sequestration of PFAS from Water.

Abstract

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a class of persistent, bioaccumulative, and highly mobile environmental contaminants that cause significant risks to ecosystems and human health due to their robust C–F bonds and resistance to conventional remediation technologies. To address these challenges, the development of advanced materials capable of selectively capturing PFAS under complex aqueous environments are necessary. Herein, we report the rational design of covalently integrated composites formed by threading MOF-808 within a cationic imidazolium-based porous organic polymer (ImPOP). This hybrid composite material having coordinatively unsaturated Zr⁴⁺ Lewis acidic sites and uniformly distributed cationic imidazolium functionalities, can cooperatively interact with anionic PFAS. The resulting composites demonstrate efficient and selective PFAS removal, along with good stability and reusability. These findings highlight the significance of such synergistic hybrid materials as promising platforms for the effective remediation of PFAS from contaminated water systems.