A cost-effective crosslinked β-cyclodextrin polymer for the rapid and efficient removal of micropollutants from wastewater

Water pollution problems pose a serious threat to the health of humans and other living organisms due to the increasing global contamination of various water resources by organic micropollutants, such as plastic components, dyes and pesticide intermediates. It has been a challenging problem to remove these organic micropollutants, despite various attempts. Here, we report a novel, cost-effective and water-insoluble crosslinked β-cyclodextrin polymer for the efficient removal of various organic micropollutants from wastewaters with excellent adsorption capacity, large removal rate, robust performance and reusability. This polymer can remove 93% of bisphenol A within 1 min with an equilibrium uptake of 38 mg g −1 and a maximum adsorption capacity at equilibrium of 139 mg g −1 . This is the fastest removal performance that has been reported so far, showing a bright future towards practical applications. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry