## 2 Results and Discussion
### Adsorption Studies  
In order to investigate the adsorption effectiveness of the synthesized microspheres the kinetic profiles for nitrobenzene (NB), 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) and phenol (P) adsorption from aqueous solutions were measured. In Figure 7, Figure 8 and Figure S2 (Supplementary Material) the concentration and adsorption profiles on DVB:TEVS = 2:1, DVB:TEVS = 1:2 and DVB:TEVS = 1:1 materials are compared. Figure 7: Adsorption kinetics for NB, P and 4-NP on DVB:TEVS = 2:1 **(a,b)**, DVB:TEVS = 1:2 **(c,d)** and DVB:TEVS:1:1 **(e,f)** microspheres presented as changes in concentration over time and changes in adsorption over time. Let us first discuss the differentiation of adsorbate affinity to a given material. Based on the analysis of kinetic data presented in Figure 7, one can find that for all tested materials the strongest decrease of adsorbate concentration is observed for nitrobenzene, and the lowest for phenol. This effect can be explained based on the differences in solute solubility, whereby compounds with a lower solubility in water generally have a greater affinity to the hydrophobic surface of the adsorbent [33]. Next one can discuss the differentiation of the adsorption properties of all DVB-TEVS materials towards various solutes. Basing on the analysis of data presented in Figure 8 and Figure S2, we can find the differences in the amount and rate of concentration loss from the solution of nitrobenzene, phenol and 4-nitrophenol. In the case of nitrobenzene adsorption (Figure 8a and Figure S2a), the greatest adsorbate losses from the solution are noted for the experimental system with the most hydrophobic DVB:TEVS = 2:1, slightly smaller for the least hydrophobic DVB:TEVS = 1:2, and the smallest for DVB:TEVS = 1:1 with intermediate properties. In the case of 4-nitrophenol and phenol adsorption the greatest adsorbate losses are observed for DVB:TEVS = 1:1. Comparing the adsorption effectiveness of the obtained materials towards different adsorbates one can find a relatively large degree of similarity between the DVB:TEVS = 2:1 and DVB:TEVS = 1:2, however, DVB:TEVS = 1:1 shows quite different properties. Such a differentiated behaviour may be explained taking into account not only the hydrophobic/hydrophilic properties, but also the structural adsorbent characteristics and polymer swelling which can be responsible for penetration of adsorbate molecules into the material structure. As it will be discussed later basedon the thermal analysis data, the interactions of solute molecules with DVB-TEVS microspheres have physical character. Thus, the measured kinetic profiles reveal the global effect of all these factors. Figure 8: Adsorption kinetics for NB (**a**), P (**b**) and 4-NP (**c**) on DVB:TEVS = 2:1, DVB:TEVS = 1:2 and DVB:TEVS = 1:1 materials presented as changes in adsorption over time. The obtained experimental data were analysed using many equations and adsorption kinetics models. The relative standard deviations obtained in fitting procedure are listed in Table 3. It was observed that the best quality of fitting to the kinetic data was obtained for a multi-exponential equation, which parameters are summarized in Table 6. As can be seen, adsorption in the investigated experimental systems is a complex process, which kinetics can be described by two or three terms of the m-exp equation. The fitting quality is very good, which is confirmed by low values of relative standard deviations _SD(c)/c_ in the range from 0.205% to 0.805% and low values of determination factors 1-R\({}^{2}\) in the range from 4.2 \(\times\) 10\({}^{-4}\) to 5.4 \(\times\) 10\({}^{-2}\). Additionally, the \(u_{\alpha\beta}\) parameter values confirm the differences in the adsorption values. Moreover, for all tested systems, the half time \(t_{1/2}\) values are determined, which are defined as the time needed to obtain a half of the concentration change. The obtained half-time values confirm the differences in the adsorption rates of NB, P and 4-NP.