Multifunctional microporous organic polymers

Abstract

Functional microporous organic polymers (MOPs) are attractive in a wide range of applications including gas separation, catalysis, and energy storage. There is a lack of cost-effective processes to produce functional MOPs at industrial scale, which in fact limits their practical applications. Here, we propose a new low-cost strategy, based on the Scholl reaction, which can directly link rigid building blocks to obtain MOPs with high surface area and highly microporous structures. More importantly, this method is suitable for various building blocks and can be used as a general bottom-up approach to produce a variety of multifunctional MOPs. Multifaceted applications of these materials are also demonstrated by their large gas storage capacity, high catalytic activity, luminescence and semiconducting properties. This journal is © the Partner Organisations 2014.