One-pot synthesis of conjugated microporous polymers based on extended molecular graphenes for hydrogen storage

Incorporation of highly extended π-conjugated molecules into conjugated microporous polymers (CMPs) is one of the important aspects in material science. Herein we synthesize conjugated microporous polymers (CMP-Gs) with covalently linked molecular graphenes by an efficient tandem oxidative reaction in one-pot, which comprising Scholl-type cyclodehydrogenation and oxidative polymerization. Oxidation of m- or p-thienyl decorated hexaphenylbenzene derivatives with excess of FeCl3 allowing in situ generation of size-controlled graphitic segments form CMP-G1 and CMP-G2 in high yields, respectively. CMP-Gs possess large surface areas and micropore size from 0.5 to 1.5 nm. Gravimetric hydrogen adsorption isotherms show that the adsorption capacity for hydrogen is up to 2.69 wt% for CMP-G1 and 2.14 wt% for CMP-G2 at 20 bar and 77 K, respectively.