The aim of this work was to develop functionalized polyxanthones, poly(azoxanthone-ester)s (PAXEs), with biological activities and heavy metal sorption abilities. For this purpose, at first, new xanthone-based diol moiety was synthesized and then used for polymerization with commercial dicarboxylic acids via polycondensation reaction by Vilsmeier adducts. The monomer and all polymers were characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopies, and the physical properties of these PAXEs including solution viscosity, solubility properties, thermal stability, and thermal behavior were studied. The prepared polyesters showed excellent thermal stability and good solubility in polar aprotic solvents. In addition, evaluation of antioxidant activity of the PAXEs by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl assay revealed that synthesized polymers have higher antioxidant activity than xanthone nucleus. Also, evaluation of the antibacterial activities of the diol monomer and polymer showed good antibacterial activity against some bacterial strains (Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa). The results showed that these PAXEs can be used in pharmaceutical and food industry (food packaging). Furthermore, these functionalized polyesters were utilized for extraction of environmentally harmful metal cations such as Cr (VI), Co (II), Ni (II), Cu (II), Pb (II), and Cd (II) from aqueous solutions.
