Phys.org July 3, 2023
Porous poly(aryl thioether)s offer stability and electronic tunability by robust sulfur-aryl conjugated architecture, but synthetic access is hindered due to limited control over the nucleophilic nature of sulfides and the air sensitivity of aromatic thiols. An international team of researchers (South Korea, Saudi Arabia) has developed a regioselective synthesis of highly porous poly(aryl thioether)s through polycondensation of perfluoroaromatic compounds with sodium sulfide. The temperature-dependent para-directing formation of thioether linkages led to a stepwise transition of the polymer extension into a network, thereby allowing fine control of the porosity and optical band gaps. The resulting porous organic polymers with ultra-microporosity (<1 nm) and sulfur as the surface functional groups demonstrated size-dependent separation of organic micropollutants and selective removal of mercury ions from water. According to the researchers their findings offer easy access to poly(aryl thioether)s with accessible sulfur functionalities and higher complexity, which will help in realizing advanced synthetic designs in applications such as adsorption, (photo)catalysis, and (opto)electronics… read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLEÂ
Graphical abstract. Credit: Angewandte Chemie International Edition, Volume 62, Issue 28, e202304378