Synthesis of microporous organic polymers via radical polymerization of fumaronitrile with divinylbenzene

To circumvent the intractable disadvantages of a hyper-cross-linked strategy based on the Friedel–Crafts reaction, a new type of microporous organic polymer (MOP) has been successfully prepared using fumaronitrile and divinylbenzene via alternating radical polymerization. The obtained MOPs exhibit a maximum surface area of 805 m² g⁻¹ and excellent thermochemical stability. By pyrolyzing the copolymer precursor, a rich nitrogen-doped porous carbon material can be produced, which possesses a specific surface area of 1450 m² g⁻¹ with a CO₂ uptake of 30 wt% at 273 K. The porous carbon also shows a high specific capacitance of 330 F g⁻¹ at a current density of 1.0 A g⁻¹ and a good cycling stability of 96.8% retention after 8000 cycles in a three electrode system. The unique synthesis strategy inspires researchers to seek novel building blocks for the scaled-up preparation of MOPs and the resulting porous carbon has promising application for gas adsorption and energy storage.