Fabricating amide functional group modified hyper-cross-linked adsorption resin with enhanced adsorption and recognition performance for 5-hydroxymethylfurfural adsorption via simple one-step

In this study, three kinds of amide functional group modified hyper-cross-linked adsorption resin were synthesized by alternating radical copolymerization in simple one-step and applied for 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF) adsorption. The successful synthesis and properties of adsorbents were evaluated with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, nitrogen adsorption–desorption isotherms, thermogravimetric analysis, and elemental analysis. Poly ( N , N ′-4,4′-diphenylmethane-bismaleimide-alt-divinylbenzene) (poly (BDM-alt-DVB)) resin exhibited highest adsorption capacity for 5-HMF (64.0 mg·g −1 wet resin) and excellent adsorption selectivity ( α 5-HMF/LA  = 2.71 ± 0.12, α 5-HMF/FA  = 13.88 ± 0.15, α 5-HMF/Glucose  = 11.91 ± 1.11) in the multi-component solution at 25 °C. Langmuir isotherm model well fitted the equilibrium adsorption data within the initial 5-HMF concentration range of 0.5–10.0 g·L −1 with highest correlation coefficient. Furthermore, the thermodynamic parameters demonstrated that the adsorption of 5-HMF onto poly (BDM-alt-DVB) resin was spontaneous and exothermic. Kinetic study revealed that the adsorption process was fast, reaching equilibrium within 12 min. Importantly, the poly (BDM-alt-DVB) resin also demonstrated excellent reusability. In summary, the poly (BDM-alt-DVB) resin will be useful in 5-HMF hydrolysate separation applications.