Facile Preparation of Micro/Mesoporous Conjugated Polymers for Multifunctional Sensing and Separation Applications

Abstract

Micro/mesoporous conjugated polymers (MCPs) incorporate fluorescence, adsorption, and electronic conductivity together were synthesized. In this paper, a family of MCPs was prepared by Suzuki–Miyaura coupling‐reaction using different building blocks. MCPs were studied by Fourier Transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), solid‐state 13C Nuclear magnetic resonance (13CNMR) spectra, fluorescence spectra, Ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy (UV‐vis), scanning electron microscope (SEM), and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET). The as‐prepared MCPs are of porous structure and fluorescence. The pore diameters and specific surface areas varied by changing the starting monomers. The MCPs could be linear chain and network structure depending on the starting monomers. The specific surface areas of network MCPs are larger than linear chain ones. The fluorescence MCPs could be employed as chemosensors for detection of metal ions. Also the MCPs could be used as adsorbent for separation of metal ions and organic dyes. The maximum absorption capacity of MCP‐4 for Fe3+ ions reached 152 mg/g within 30 min. Meanwhile, when MCPs were used for the removal of organic dyes, the adsorption capability of MCP‐4 reached 488 mg/g and 491 mg/g for methylene blue (MB) and rhodamine (RhB) within 30 min respectively. With the introduction of N, S atoms to the building blocks, the sensing and removal ability were enhanced. Furthermore, the MCP family owns electric conductivity which may be employed as solar cell materials.