Synthesis of macroporous polymer foams via pickering high internal phase emulsions for highly efficient 2,4,5‐trichlorophenol removal

Macroporous polymers foams (MPFs) were prepared by W/O Pickering high internal phase emulsions (HIPEs) stabilized by oleic acid (OA) modified silica nanoparticles (SPs), and then as‐prepared MPFs were applied to highly efficient adsorption of 2,4,5‐trichlorophenol (TCP). The characterization demonstrated that MPFs possessed macropore (50–150 μm) and interconnected pores (0.5–2 μm), and also had slightly hydrophobic nature (contact angle was 116°) and excellent thermal stability especially bellow 200°C. The influence of pH value, temperature, initial concentration, and contact time for the batch mode adsorption process was investigated, and the results showed that the maximum adsorption capacity and equilibrium time at 25°C were 167.7 mg g^?1 and 30 min, respectively. Moreover, the experimental data indicate that equilibrium isotherms for TCP fitted to the non‐linear Langmuir model, and both the adsorption and desorption kinetics can be represented by the pseudo‐second‐order model. The possible adsorption mechanism was considered to be the dispersion and hydrophobic interaction, simultaneously. The regeneration of the MPFs for one cycle was 94%. The results above strongly proved that this method reached the effect of highly efficient TCP removal. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015 , 132, 41430.