A three dimensional graphdiyne-like porous triptycene network for gas adsorption and separation

Graphdiyne, an emerging carbon allotrope, has attracted many researchers devoted to the study of its synthesis and application. The utilization of graphdiyne in gas adsorption and separation has been predicted by computer simulation with many examples. In this work, the triangular basic unit of graphdiyne was introduced into a triptycene-based porous organic polymer to obtain a three dimensional graphdiyne-like porous triptycene network named G-PTN. With high surface area and a microporous structure, G-PTN exhibited convincing application potential for the storage of gas molecules, especially for the selective adsorption of acetylene over ethylene. Computational simulation proved the importance of the triptycene units and three dimensional structure to the selectivity, as well as the potential of graphdiyne units as selective binding sites, suggesting that through judicious design, new three-dimensional porous graphdiyne could be acquired with better gas adsorption and separation performance.