Microporous conjugated polymers via homopolymerization of 2,5-diethynylthiophene

Homopolymerizations of 2,5-diethynylthiophene into conjugated microporous polymers by (i) chain-growth polymerization and (ii) polycyclotrimerization are described. Both methods provide nearly quantitative yields of thiophene-rich (7.6 mmol thiophene rings/g) networks with specific surface area up to 839 m(2)/g. The thiophene units enhance the affinity of the networks to CO2 and red-shift the UV/vis and fluorescence absorption and emission bands of the networks, respectively.