Capture and Reversible Storage of Volatile Iodine by Novel Conjugated Microporous Polymers Containing Thiophene Units

Conjugated microporous polymers having thiophene building blocks (SCMPs), which originated from ethynylbenzene monomers with 2,3,5-tribromothiophene, were designedly synthesized through Pd(0)/CuI catalyzed Sonogashira-Hagihara cross-coupling polymerization. The morphologies, structure and physicochemical properties of the as-synthesized products were characterized through scanning electron microscope (SEM), thermogravimeter analysis (TGA), (13)C CP/MAS solid state NMR and Fourier transform infrared spectroscope (FTIR) spectra. Nitrogen sorption-desorption analysis shows that the as-synthesized SCMPs possesses a high specific surface area of 855 m(2) g(-1). Because of their abundant porosity, π-conjugated network structure, as well as electron-rich thiophene building units, the SCMPs show better adsorption ability for iodine and a high uptake value of 222 wt % was obtained, which can compete with those nanoporous materials such as silver-containing zeolite, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) and conjugated microporous polymers (CMPs), etc. Our study might provide a new possibility for the design and synthesis of functional CMPs containing electron-rich building units for effective capture and reversible storage of volatile iodine to address environmental issues.