Preparation of Microporous Melamine-based Polymer Networks in an Anhydrous High-Temperature Miniemulsion

An overview of the synthetic strategies of C3-symmetric polymeric materials containing benzene and triazine cores and their biomedical applications

C3-symmetric star-shaped materials are an emerging category of porous organic polymers with distinctive properties such as permanent porosity, good thermal and chemical stability, high surface area, and appropriate functionalization that promote outstanding potential in various applications. This review is mostly about constructing benzene or s-triazine rings as the center of C3-symmetric molecules and using side-arm reactions to add functions to these molecules. Over and above this, the performance of various polymerization processes has been additionally investigated in detail, including the trimerization of alkynes or aromatic nitriles, polycondensation of monomers with specific functional groups, and cross-coupling building blocks with benzene or triazine cores. Finally, the most recent progress in biomedical applications for C3-symmetric materials based on benzene or s-triazine have been summarized.

Facile solvothermal assisted g-C3N4 post-grafting with aromatic amine dyes for effective photocatalytic hydrogen evolution

Dye grafted g-C3N4 using covalent bonds via a Schiff base chemical reaction exhibit much higher photocatalytic activity for H2 evolution.

Advances and Opportunities of Oil-in-Oil Emulsions

Emulsions are mixtures of two immiscible liquids in which droplets of one are dispersed in a continuous phase of the other. The most common emulsions are oil-water systems, which have found widespread use across a number of industries, for example, in the cosmetic and food industries, and are also of advanced scientific interest. In addition, the past decade has seen a significant increase in both the design and application of nonaqueous emulsions. This has been primarily driven by developments in understanding the mechanism of effective stabilization of oil-in-oil (o/o) systems, either using block copolymers (BCPs) or solid (Pickering) particles with appropriate surface functionality. These systems, as highlighted in this review, have enabled emergent applications in areas such as pharmaceutical delivery, energy storage, and materials design (e.g., polymerization, monolith, and porous polymer synthesis). These o/o emulsions complement traditional emulsions that utilize an aqueous phase and allow the use of materials incompatible with water. We assess recent advances in the preparation and stabilization of o/o emulsions, focusing on the identity of the stabilizer (BCP or particle), the interplay between stabilizer and oils, and highlighting applications and opportunities associated with o/o emulsions.

Recent advances in polymerizations in dispersed media

Advances in chemistry heterophase polymerizations reflect new developments in polymer chemistry. Although some few polymerization reactions cannot be performed in dispersed media, new polymerization reactions can still benefit from advantages of heterophase reactions, which are fast kinetics due to high local concentration of reagents and advantageous heat exchange. We describe here advances in heterophase polymerizations, with a focus on miniemulsion polymerization, which are mainly driven by academic interest for biomedicine and energy science. Click-reactions in dispersion are particularly interesting because they are bioorthogonals. Synthesis of highly crosslinked polymer colloids, especially with conjugated polymers, has found applications in gas storage, catalysis, and production of energy. Finally, we show how spatial segregation in heterophase polymerization can help to obtain polymer materials with unique structures.

Fabrication of conjugated microporous polytriazine nanotubes and nanospheres for highly selective CO2 capture

A new strategy for fabricating CMPs with a controllable morphology and a molecular design for enhancing host–guest interactions lead to high capacities for CO₂ and exceptionally high ideal selectivities over N₂.

Conjugated microporous polymers with dimensionality-controlled heterostructures for green energy devices

Dimensionality for conjugated micro-porous polymers (CMP-nD, n = 0, 1, 2) is proven to be of great importance for tailoring their photophysical properties. Moreover, CMP-nD can further be converted into boron and nitrogen co-doped porous carbons (nDBN, n = 0, 1, 2) with maintained 0D, 1D, and 2D nano-structures and highly efficient catalytic performance.

Hierarchical porous carbon materials with high capacitance derived from Schiff-base networks

A type of hierarchical porous carbon material was prepared using a Schiff-base network as the precursor and ZnCl2 as the activation agent, and their electrochemical performances were investigated in acid and alkaline aqueous solutions, respectively. The as-prepared materials have high surface areas, appropriate distributions of hierarchical pore sizes, and various forms of nitrogen/oxygen derivatives. These structural advantages guarantee the outstanding performances of such carbon materials as electrodes for supercapacitors, which include high specific capacitances, fast current responses, and high cycling stabilities.

Organic building block based microporous network SNW-1 coating fabricated by multilayer interbridging strategy for efficient enrichment of trace volatiles

Microporous organic polymers (MOPs) are an emerging class of functional porous materials for diverse potential applications. Typically, tailored microporous structures of MOPs are generated by linkages of organic polymerizable monomer building blocks, providing high permanent porosity and excellent stability. Herein, we reported the first example of the application of organic building block based MOPs (OBB-MOPs) as efficient enrichment media for sample preparation. A novel multilayer interbridging strategy was proposed to fabricate OBB-MOP coatings, and hereby SNW-1 (a kind of OBB-MOPs) was coated on silica substrate with well-controlled thickness. Strong covalent bonds throughout the network and interlayer bridging improved the durability of the coating significantly. Outstanding chemical stability was observed in diverse solvents as well as solutions with a wide range of pH or high ionic strength and even under extremely harsh conditions like boiling water. The SNW-1 coating possessed a microporous network structure constructed of conjugated and nitrogen-rich building blocks. Thus, the coating exhibited a superior enrichment performance of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and volatile fatty acids (VFAs) over commercial coatings based on interactions including π-π affinity and acid-base interaction. For further application, this coating was combined with gas chromatography/mass spectrometry for the noninvasive analysis of VFAs from tea leaf and tobacco shred samples. The low detection limits of 0.014-0.026 μg/L were achieved with the relative standard deviations (RSDs) between 4.3 and 9.0%. Consequently, trace original VFAs from the samples were detected. Good recoveries were obtained in the range of 90-129% and 77-118% with the corresponding RSDs (n = 3) of 2.6-9.3% and 1.9-10%, respectively.

Polymeric organo–magnesium complex for room temperature hydrogen physisorption

Hydrogen physisorption in a polymeric organo–magnesium complex.

One-pot synthesis and assembly of melamine-based nanoparticles for microporous polymer organic frameworks and their application as a support for a silver nanoparticle catalyst

A facile one-pot route was developed to obtain organic nanoparticles for fabrication of microporous POFs which can be utilized to entrap Ag nanoparticles and show excellent catalytic performance for organic dyes such as methylene blue in water.

Fabrication of porous organic polymers in the form of powder, soluble in organic solvents and nanoparticles: a unique platform for gas adsorption and efficient chemosensing

Tetraphenyl-5,5-dioctylcyclopentadiene based porous organic polymers were fabricated in the form of powder, soluble in organic solvents and nanoparticles and were explored for gas adsorption and chemosensing.

Precursor-controlled and template-free synthesis of nitrogen-doped carbon nanoparticles for supercapacitors

We describe the synthesis of hierarchical porous nitrogen-doped carbon nanoparticles with high specific surface area and specific capacitance for supercapacitors.

From Hyperbranched Polymer to Nanoscale CMP (NCMP): Improved Microscopic Porosity, Enhanced Light Harvesting, and Enabled Solution Processing into White-Emitting Dye@NCMP Films

A two-step polymerization combining miniemulsion and solvothermal techniques was applied to synthesize tetraphenylethene-based nanoscale conjugated microporous polymers (TPE-NCMP), which simultaneously possessed a large surface area (1214 m²/g) and a high aggregation-induced florescence quantum yield (58%). Immobilization of Nile Red within micropores of TPE-NCMPs constructed a light-harvesting composite with characteristics of intense photons acquisition and efficient energy migration. Homogenous NCMP-based films were fabricated by blending the dye-doped TPE-NCMPs with PVA. The fluorescence emission could be flexibly tuned by varying the dosage of dyes over the whole visible spectrum including a pure white light.

Thin film fabricated from solution-dispersible porous hyperbranched conjugated polymer nanoparticles without surfactants

Porous hyperbranched conjugated polymer nanoparticles with an average particle size of 20-60 nm and a specific surface area of 225 m(2) g(-1) have been prepared through Suzuki polymerization in a miniemulsion, which could be stably dispersed in common organic solvents after complete removal of surfactants. Furthermore, a simple spin-coating method for the preparation of homogeneous transparent thin films of the nanoparticle has been developed. Bright blue emission of the porous nanoparticle films could be reversibly quenched by nitroaromatics with enhanced sensitivity compared to dense films of the linear conjugated polymer analogue.

Synthesis of nanostructured materials in inverse miniemulsions and their applications

Polymeric nanogels, inorganic nanoparticles, and organic-inorganic hybrid nanoparticles can be prepared via the inverse miniemulsion technique. Hydrophilic functional cargos, such as proteins, DNA, and macromolecular fluoresceins, may be conveniently encapsulated in these nanostructured materials. In this review, the progress of inverse miniemulsions since 2000 is summarized on the basis of the types of reactions carried out in inverse miniemulsions, including conventional free radical polymerization, controlled/living radical polymerization, polycondensation, polyaddition, anionic polymerization, catalytic oxidation reaction, sol-gel process, and precipitation reaction of inorganic precursors. In addition, the applications of the nanostructured materials synthesized in inverse miniemulsions are also reviewed.

Microporous Polymer Networks (MPNs) Made in Metal-Free Regimes: Systematic Optimization of a Synthetic Protocol toward N-Arylcarbazole-Based MPNs

Acidic self-condensation of 2,7-bis(N-carbazolyl)-9-fluorenone 1 produces microporous polymer networks (MPNs) with high Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface areas of up to 2250 m²/g and hydrogen storage capacities of up to 1.7% (at 1 bar) in a fully metal-free condensation regime.