Molecularly imprinted boronic acid-functionalized covalent organic frameworks for ultrasensitive detection of bisphenol pollutants and ecological risk evaluation

Bisphenols (BPs), as representative endocrine-disrupting compounds, pose potential risks to human health and aquatic ecosystems. However, their trace-level occurrence and interference from complex environmental matrices remain major challenges for sensitive and selective analysis. In this study, a novel phenylboronic acid-functionalized molecularly imprinted covalent organic framework (MICOF@S-S-BA) was designed and synthesized for the selective enrichment, sensitive determination, and ecological risk assessment of BPs in aquatic environments. Bisphenol A (BPA) was employed as the template molecule to construct specific recognition cavities via molecular imprinting, endowing MICOF@S-S-BA with enhanced selectivity and rapid adsorption kinetics toward BPs. Benefiting from the well-defined imprinting sites and synergistic functional interactions, MICOF@S-S-BA exhibited a high adsorption capacity, which showed a positive correlation with the Log Kow values of BPs. Environmental analysis revealed that the spatial distribution of BPs varied along the river flow, and no pronounced high-risk hotspots were identified in the investigated area. Nevertheless, the estrogenic equivalent levels of residual BPs ranged from 1.1597 to 14.5537 ng E 2 L⁻¹ , indicating non-negligible potential ecological risks. The proposed MICOF@S-S-BA provides a reliable and efficient analytical platform for the rapid, sensitive, and accurate determination of multiple BPs in aquatic environments, offering essential exposure data to support subsequent ecological risk assessment.