Imide-Based Polymers of Intrinsic Microporosity: Probing the Microstructure in Relation to CO2 Sorption Characteristics

A range of microporous, imide-based polymers were newly synthesized using two-step poly-condensation reactions of bis(carboxylic anhydride) and various aromatic diamines for CO2 gas capture and storage applications. In this report, we attempted to assess the relative significance of molecular structural aspects through the manipulation of the conformational characteristics of the building blocks of the polymeric structures, the spiro-containing acid anhydride and the aromatic amines, to induce greater intrinsic microporosity and higher surface areas for the resulting solids. Results obtained from this study were thus used to outline a working relationship between the structural diversity of the constructed porous solids and their performance as CO2 sorbents.