Functionalized graphene modified styrene-divinylbenzene copolymer as a superhydrophobic catalyst carrier for hydrogen-water liquid phase catalytic exchange

Styrene-divinylbenzene (SDB) catalyst carrier is the key material for hydrogen-water liquid phase catalytic exchange (LPCE) reaction. However, currently available SDB generally has drawbacks such as low hydrophobicity , small particle size, and poor strength . Therefore, it is interesting to obtain SDB carriers with large particle size, superhydrophobicity and high strength . Herein, modification of graphene with hexadecyltrimethoxysilane (HDTMS) and γ-methylallyl oxypropyl (KH570) respectively gave KH570-GNS and HDTMS-GNS with a good lipophilicity and a uniform dispersity. Then, terpolymerization of KH570-GNS with styrene and divinylbenzene provided KH570-GNS-SDB; In-situ polymerization of HDTMS-GNS with styrene and divinylbenzene in oil phase gave HDTMS-GNS-SDB. Data show that catalyst carriers KH570-GNS-SDB and HDTMS-GNS-SDB have a suitable particle size (up to 3.5–4.5 mm), as well as a higher strength and a better hydrophobicity (152.36°) than reported for SDB. Interestingly, the hardness of the modified SDBs with a graphene-content of 1% is 189% greater than that of normal SDB with the same diameter, according to particle hardness test. Furthermore, KH570-GNS-SDB exhibits a high stability more than 11 h at 80 °C. Generally, the modified SDB carriers have excellent properties such as superhydrophobicity, high strength and high specific surface area. Hence, they have certain application prospects in the treatment of tritium-containing wastewater.