Highly Porous Poly(arylene cyano-vinylene) Beads Derived through the Knoevenagel Condensation of the Oil-in-Oil-in-Oil Double Emulsion Templates

Abstract

Conjugated porous polymers through the emulsion-templating polymerization process are typically prepared as monoliths, and the emulsions are cured via metal-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions. Herein, we report the design and synthesis of well-defined, millimeter-sized conjugated porous polymer beads by combining an oil-in-oil-in-oil (O/O/O) double emulsion as a de novo template and an amino-catalyzed Knoevenagel condensation reaction as a polymerization chemistry to cure such emulsions. The 1,4-phenylenediacetonitrile is reacted with aromatic multialdehydes in the presence of piperidine, and a series of metal-free poly(arylene cyano-vinylene) beads are prepared. All beads exhibit 3D-interconnected microcellular morphology and substantial semiconducting properties, such as strong light harvesting ability in the visible light region with electrochemical band gaps in the range of 2.05-2.33 eV. Finally, the promising photocatalytic activity of these conjugated beads is demonstrated for a model sulfoxidation reaction under visible light irradiation, and near quantitative conversions with excellent chemoselectivities (>99%) are obtained.