Post-crosslinking knitting strategy for triazine-functionalized ionic hypercrosslinked polymers: Enhanced CO2 adsorption and conversion

Pore engineering has gained significant recognition as a pivotal strategy to tailor the structure and functionality of porous materials. In this study, a post-crosslinking knitting strategy was employed to fabricate a series of triazine-functionalized ionic hypercrosslinked polymers (IHCPs) using low specific surface area ionic polymers as precursors and external crosslinkers alpha,alpha '-dichloro-p-xylene '-dichloro-p-xylene (DCX) and alpha,alpha '-dibromo-p-xylene '-dibromo-p-xylene (DBX) through the Friedel Crafts alkylation reaction. This post-crosslinking knitting methodology increases the specific surface area of the resulting IHCPs, leading to enhanced CO2 2 adsorption capabilities (reaching 1.92 mmol & sdot;g-1- 1 at 1 bar and 273 K), enhanced a remarkable 5.6-fold increase in CO2 2 uptake compared to the original ionic polymers. Of particular interest, inclusion of -NH- groups in PTA-2-DBX exhibits a synergistic catalytic effect facilitated by hydrogen bonding interactions that enable efficient conversion of CO2 2 into various cyclic carbonates under solvent- and cocatalyst-free conditions with yields exceeding 99 %. Furthermore, PTA-2-DBX demonstrates excellent recyclability while maintaining its activity even after five consecutive cycles. This study offers an effective approach for modulating pores in ionic polymers while highlighting the promising applications of triazine-functionalized IHCPs as dual-functional materials for both CO2 2 capture and conversion.