Luminescent tetraphenylethene-cored, carbazole- and thiophene-based microporous polymer films for the chemosensing of nitroaromatic analytes

A series of novel microporous polymer networks (MPNs) have been prepared from tetraphenylethene (TPE)-cored, multifunctional carbazole-or thiophene-based monomers by using chemical and electrochemical oxidative coupling methods. Octafunctional monomers lead to MPNs with a high degree of cross-linking and optimized specific surface areas (S-BET) of up to 2200 m(2) g(-1). Aggregation-induced emission (AIE) activity of the monomers is demonstrated. The MPN films are tested for application in the chemical sensing of nitroaromatic analytes by fluorescence quenching.