Molecularly imprinted
polymers (MIPs) with high specific recognition
capability are promising in environmental remediation. However, traditional
MIPs usually show poor specific binding affinity toward templates
in pure aqueous medium, thus greatly limiting their practical applications
in wastewater treatment. Herein, we proposed a facile and versatile
method to synthesize a water-compatible hierarchically porous MIP
(HP-MIP), in which a metal–organic gel (MOG) was formed by
in situ assembly and acted as a removable structural modulator. Remarkably,
the integration of the MOG modulator and template imprinting defects
significantly improved the specific template binding affinity of HP-MIP
in water. The adsorption behavior of HP-MIP fitted well with the heterogeneous
Freundlich isotherm, suggesting that HP-MIP possessed greater site
heterogeneity to sildenafil than HP-NIP, which confirmed the efficiency
of HP-MIP for the removal of sildenafil from water. This approach
provides an important pathway to prepare water-compatible porous MIP
for efficient removal of highly toxic organic pollutants from wastewater.
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