In this paper, a novel method for preparing nanoparticle-polymer hybrid adsorbent was established. Laponite was dispersed in distilled water to form Laponite nanoparticles. These nanoparticles were pre-adsorbed by 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropane-sulfonic acid (AMPS) to improve their dispersion stability in chitosan solution. The nanoparticle-polymer hybrid adsorbent was prepared by copolymerization of chitosan, acrylamide, acrylic acid, AMPS, and Laponite nanoparticles. Four adsorbents were obtained and characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller adsorption (BET). Additionally, the uptake capacities of Cu²⁺ using different samples were studied. Compared to the adsorbent without chitosan and Laponite components, the maximum uptake of the hybrid adsorbent increased from 0.58 to 1.28 mmol·g⁻¹ and the adsorption equilibrium time of it decreased from more than 75 min to less than 35 min, which indicated that the addition of chitosan and Laponite could greatly increase the adsorption rate and capacity of polymer adsorbent. The effects of different experimental parameters—such as initial pH, temperature, and equilibrium Cu²⁺ concentration—on the adsorption capacities were studied. Desorption study indicated that this hybrid adsorbent was easy to be regenerated.

Porous polystyrene nanostructures (PPNs) were synthesized through a facile emulsion polymerization method with assistance from environmental biodiesel. Based on controlling experiments with different biodiesel masses or temperatures, when added 0.2 g biodiesel at 60 °C, the delicate equilibrium between the reaction and diffusion rates was found to contribute to the PPN formation. Diffusion-limited aggregation theory was introduced to explain the possible formation mechanism of the PPNs. Moreover, due to their small pore sizes (40–50 nm) and high specific surface areas (769.3 m²/g), the PPNs showed excellent adsorption efficiency in the cycled adsorption of phenol. The possible adsorption mechanism is that PPNs has abundant benzene ring and phenol to form π–π stacking, thus playing the role of adsorption phenol. In this paper, a novel method of fabricating polystyrene nanostructures assisted by biodiesel is provided, which has a certain guiding effect on adsorption of benzene rings in wastewater. Graphical Abstract