Reports on the development of polymer adsorbents for microwave-assisted desorption of nonpolar volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are rare. In this study, we synthesized macroporous polymeric adsorbents with hydrophilic methyl pyridinium units for microwave-assisted desorption of nonpolar VOCs. The benzene adsorption and desorption properties of the adsorbents were investigated under both dry and humid conditions. Under humid conditions, as the content of the hydrophilic methyl pyridinium units in the adsorbents increased from 0 to 20%, the adsorption capacity of benzene decreased from about 21 to 7 mg/g, while the desorption efficiency of benzene increased significantly from 48 to 87%. The maximum concentration of desorbate also increased significantly as the content of the hydrophilic units was increased under humid conditions. We attributed the enhanced desorption efficiency mainly to more adsorbed moisture, which indirectly allowed heating of the polymer adsorbents to higher temperatures upon irradiation with 600 W microwaves. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.