The Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Bhopal (IISERB) researchers have developed an organic polymer that can remove highly POMs(Polar Organic Micropollutants) from water and make it safe to consume.

The researchers have already tested these polymers for the removal of polar organic micropollutants at a laboratory scale. The researchers added that the large-scale fabrication of these materials in coordination with industrial partners will step up an encouraging approach for real-time scavenging of toxic POMs from water.

The team's findings have been published in the esteemed peer-reviewed journal of the American Chemical Society, Interfaces, and ACS Applied Materials.

The polymers are called 'Hyper-crosslinked Porous Organic Polymers' (HPOPs). The team further informed that a teaspoon of the powder of these polymers will be enough for an internal surface area of 1000-2000 m2/g.

These polymers are cheap for large-scale fabrication and are simple aromatic precursors without the requirement of any transition metal-based exotic catalysts, informed the Associate Professor of the Department of Chemistry in IISER, Bhopal Abhijit Patra.

The team members included IISER Bhopal alumni and currently pursuing PhD at IISc Bangalore Subha Biswas, PhD students Arkaprabha Giri and Tapas Kumar Dutta, and another IISER Bhopal alumni and currently pursuing post-doctoral research at Hanyang University, South Korea Waseem Hussain.

The Department of Science and Technology, Government of India funded the project under the 'Centre for Sustainable Treatment, Reuse, and Management for Efficient, Affordable and Synergistic solutions for Water'.