Hierarchical porous phenolic polymer for efficient adsorption of triazine herbicides: Novel preparation strategies and potential applications

[Display omitted] •A hierarchical porous phenolic polymer (IL-PMAPFP) was prepared for the first time.•F127 and IL synergistic porogen strategy is the first to prepare porous adsorbent.•IL-PMAPFP has multiple functional groups, large surface area, and fast mass transfer.•IL-PMAPFP can adsorb and isolate four TRZHs, and has good regeneration ability.•The potential of IL-PMAPFP is great in adsorption and sample preparation fields. Efficient removal of pollutants based on porous adsorbents is a research hotspot now. Triazine herbicides (TRZHs), a class of broad-spectrum, low-cost pesticides, have become an environmental concern owing to the widespread use and abuse these chemicals. In this study, an ionic liquid (IL)-functionalized porous m-aminophenol formaldehyde polymer (IL-PMAPFP) used to adsorb four TRZHs (simazine, cyanazine, atrazine, and terbuthylazine) in environmental water was synthesized. The role of the ethylene oxide/propylene oxide block copolymer (F127) and IL in pore formation was confirmed by microscopic morphology and specific surface area analysis of IL-PMAPFP. The specific surface area of IL-PMAPFP increased 13-fold after adding F127 and the IL. The adsorption of TRZHs on IL-PMAPFP conformed to the pseudo-second-order kinetic and Freundlich isotherm models. The adsorption process is spontaneous, endothermic, and has a strong anti-interference ability. The adsorption equilibrium of IL-PMAPFP could be reached within 1 h, and the adsorption capacities of the four TRZHs are 4.26, 4.82, 5.21, and 8.53 mg/g, respectively, which were higher than many reported adsorbents. Theoretically, the ability of the adsorbent to treat TRZH-contaminated water is 450–900 L/g. IL-PMAPFP is a powerful adsorbent owing to its large surface area, high adsorption amount, fast mass transfer, and good regeneration capability (>eight cycles). IL-PMAPFP combined with dispersive solid phase extraction/miniaturized pipette tip solid phase extraction-high performance liquid chromatography is expected to accurately quantify TRZHs. In addition, the synergistic pore formation strategy of F127 and IL present a new method for preparing of porous polymer. This study provides a new perspective for developing efficient purification techniques to monitor and remove pollutants.