Ionic self-assembled single-crystal for highly efficient capture of iodine

Untreated radioactive iodine poses a significant risk to both the environment and human health, so developing efficient adsorbents for the adsorption of radioactive iodine has become a top priority. In this study, we innovatively synthesized two ionic self-assembled single-crystal materials: HBP-PyTS and VBp-PyTS. The former comprises pyridine group organic cation and sulfonic acid group anion, while the latter contains quaternary ammonium group organic cation and sulfonic acid anion. These materials were synthesized using an environmentally friendly, simple, and relatively stable method. Besides, they were composed of ionic bonds and boasted abundant adsorption sites, which are highly effective at capturing iodine. Furthermore, a comparison of the adsorption capacity of these two materials reveals that the pyridine group is more conducive to the adsorption of iodine vapor. The HBP-PyTS material displayed excellent stability in both water and organic solvents, with an adsorption capacity of 2.2 g g −1 for I 2 at 70 °C and an iodine adsorption in iodine-cyclohexane solution of 51.2 mg g −1 . The HBP-PyTS displays a higher adsorption capacity due to the electron transfer complex mechanism and their specific surface area and pore size. This suggests that the material possesses superior adsorption properties compared to other materials, offering a promising strategy for developing a new type of iodine adsorption material.