Au-NHC@Porous Organic Polymers: Synthetic Control and Its Catalytic Application in Alkyne Hydration Reactions

The synthetic control and functions of porous organic polymers (POPs) with N-heterocyclic carbene gold(I) (Au-NHC@POPs) are described in this article. A series of Au-NHC@POPs with tunable physical properties such as surface area and pore size distribution were first synthesized via Sonogashira chemistry by differing monomer strut lengths and concentration during polymerization; a controllable transition from nonporous to microporous and the coexistence of micro- and mesoporous structures in the framework were realized by varying the monomer concentration. To explain this phenomenon, we put forward a model assumption of a branch-branch cross effect. Additionally, Au-NHC@POPs1 was found to have superior catalytic activity in alkyne hydration reactions, and the catalyst could be used six times with a slight loss of activity.