Robust C-C bonded porous networks with chemically designed functionalities for improved CO capture from flue gas.

Effective carbon dioxide (CO) capture requires solid, porous sorbents with chemically and thermally stable frameworks. Herein, we report two new carbon-carbon bonded porous networks that were synthesized through metal-free Knoevenagel nitrile-aldol condensation, namely the covalent organic polymer, COP-156 and 157. COP-156, due to high specific surface area (650 m/g) and easily interchangeable nitrile groups, was modified post-synthetically into free amine- or amidoxime-containing networks. The modified COP-156-amine showed fast and increased CO uptake under simulated moist flue gas conditions compared to the starting network and usual industrial CO solvents, reaching up to 7.8 wt % uptake at 40 °C.