Morphological Diversity in Nanoporous Covalent Organic Materials Derived from Viologen and Pyrene

Adjustment of the morphology of covalent organic nanomaterials is a challenge but can be achieved by perturbing the planarity of the monomers used as core moieties in these polymers. Here we describe a template-free Zincke reaction for the synthesis of covalent organic nanosheets (CONs) that stack several layers thick and of covalent organic tubes (COTs). Both materials contain the same viologen linker but different pyrene-based cores. Both polymeric materials are nanoporous, cationic, and highly stable in water, even in the presence of acid (1M HCl) or base (1M NaOH). Their porosity and ionic surfaces are responsible for high affinities and adsorption capacities for iodine vapor.