Interfacial assembly of PBAs/ZIF-8 composites for ultrahigh-capacity and selective thallium capture with exceptional alkaline tolerance.

Interfacial assembly of PBAs/ZIF-8 composites enables ultrahigh-capacity thallium capture with exceptional alkaline tolerance, maintaining adsorption efficiency up to 10^4 mL/g under extreme pH.

• Why it matters: Removing Tl+ from hazardous wastewater at very high pH is difficult because alkali can decompose Prussian blue analogs, reducing adsorption and producing secondary pollutants.
• What they did: The authors interfacially assembled PBAs with ZIF-8 to stabilize the adsorbent, then evaluated Tl+ uptake and performed mechanistic studies showing a near-equimolar K+/Tl+ ion-exchange pathway.
• The result: The composite’s stabilized structure preserves high Tl+ adsorption and supports deep removal from alkaline wastewater, indicating the approach can protect structurally vulnerable adsorbents.

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