Advanced Applications and Challenges of Electropolymerized Conjugated Microporous Polymer Films

Conjugated microporous polymers (CMPs) are a unique class of porous materials that have an integrated pi-conjugated system and permanent intrinsic porosity. They are of great interest because of their outstanding performance in gas sorption, photoredox catalysis, energy storage, organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), and sensing applications. However, conventional chemically synthesized CMPs are solid powders and have poor solubility, which makes it difficult to process and integrate devices, and has become a bottleneck preventing their practical applications. Electropolymerization (EP) is a simple and efficient method for the preparation of CMP films, which simultaneously completes material synthesis and film processing. More importantly, the microstructure of the CMP films can be effectively controlled by electrochemical parameters. In this review, first, the basic synthetic principles and strategies of CMP films via EP are introduced, allowing for facile optimization of the structure and properties. Then, the recent progress of the EP CMP films is focused upon in organic electronics, energy storage, sensors, chemical capture and separation, and electrocatalysts. Finally, the challenges and outlook for EP CMP films are addressed.

Automated summary

Conjugated microporous polymers are a unique class of porous materials with integrated pi-conjugated system and permanent porosity. Electrochemical polymerization is an effective method to prepare CMP films with controlled microstructures, which have applications in organic electronics, energy storage, sensors, and electrocatalysis. Despite its advantages, challenges still exist for the practical applications of CMP films.