In-situ reconstruction of hydrophobic environment in SnS@SBA-15 induced efficient adsorption and storage of iodine

New SnS@SBA-15 was developed for the efficient adsorption and storage of iodine. • The iodine adsorption capacity was up to 2062 mg/g. • The iodine adsorption mechanism was chemical adsorption (SnS + I 2 → SnI 4 + S). • The retention rate of adsorption product SnI 4 was up to 76.5% after storage for 90 d. • Stable iodine storage was due to the in-situ reconstructed hydrophobic environment. Tin-based materials are expected to be excellent iodine adsorbent, but the stability of the adsorption product (SnI 4 ) poses challenge. Herein, a novel strategy based on the in-situ reconstruction of hydrophobic environment was presented for efficient iodine adsorption and storage. Stannous sulfide@mesoporous silica (SnS@SBA-15) was developed and employed for the adsorption of I 2 gas. The optimal material, SnS@SBA-15–50wt%, exhibited an excellent iodine uptake of 2062 mg/g. The adsorption was attributed to a chemical reaction (SnS + 2I 2 = SnI 4 + S). Notably, the retention rate of SnI 4 was as high as 76.5% after storage in air for 90 days due to the in-situ reconstructed hydrophobic environment. The obtained SnS@SBA-15 exhibited efficient iodine adsorption and excellent storage ability. This work presents a novel strategy to design iodine adsorbents, aimed at addressing the storage challenges of iodine adsorption products susceptible to hydrolysis. Download: Download high-res image (214KB) Download: Download full-size image