Synthesis of amphiphilic and porous copolymers through polymerization of high internal phase carboxylic carbon nanotubes emulsions and application as adsorbents for triazine herbicides analysis

Abstract In this study, amphiphilic and porous copolymers were successfully prepared by doping a carboxylated carbon nanotube aqueous phase into a styrene and divinylbenzene oil phase, followed by a simple thermal polymerization to form high internalphase emulsions (polyHIPEs-CNTs). Hypercrosslinking and interconnecting chambers were formed with abundant open-cell pores with sizes ranging from 400 nm to 3.0 µm. Infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, water contact angle measurements, and adsorption–desorption measurements were used to evaluate the characteristics of the material. The synthesized copolymers were demonstrated to be suitable for the separation of triazine herbicides from soil under optimized operating conditions. The maximum adsorption capacities of simazine, prometon, and prometryn were 25.4, 26.5, and 27.8 µg/g, respectively; the mean recoveries ranged from 87.56 to 97.67%, with a relative standard deviation lower than 4.5%. The polymers were stable, and the adsorption and desorption of the triazine herbicides were completed within a short period (10 min) without obvious interference. Adsorption isotherms revealed that the adsorption was co-determined by multiple effects between the adsorbents and compounds. An excellent reuse performance was observed, and the proposed polymers were believed to be potential materials for sample pretreatment in environmental science and pollutant cleaning engineering.