Ferrocene-based hypercrosslinked polymers derived from phenolic polycondensation with unexpected H2 adsorption capacity

Abstract

Metal-doped porous organic polymers often display unique properties for applications in gas uptake owing to the incorporation of the metal elements in the polymer networks. In this study, a series of novel ferrocene-based hypercrosslinked polymers were prepared by phenolic polycondensation (Fc-PR-HCPs). To generate the hypercrosslinked polymers, 1,1′-ferrocenedicarboxaldehyde (Fc(CHO)2) and bisphenol A (BPA) were used as the building blocks. The maximum value of BET and micropore surface area is determined to be 1111.4 and 487.4 m2/g for Fc-PR-HCP3. A significant H2 adsorption capacity of 3.11 wt% was achieved for Fc-PR-HCP3 at 77 K/1.0 bar, which was noted to be higher than the porous organic polymers with even higher BET surface area value. The high micropore surface area value and the adsorption sites (aromatic rings and metal ion-active sites) provided by two building blocks were used to explain the significant H2 adsorption capacity successfully. Overall, the findings from this study indicate that Fc-PR-HCPs highlighted prospective applications in the field of H2 capture.