Structure–property–function relationship of fluorescent conjugated microporous polymers

Abstract

Porous organic polymers (POPs) consisting of open interconnected pores offer a broad and vast accessible surface area, and thus have been explored extensively in both academia and industry for numerous applications including heterogeneous catalysis, gas separation, gas adsorption/storage, and ion exchange. Introducing the benefits of microporous polymers into the extended π-conjugated organic polymer gives rise to novel materials, namely, conjugated microporous polymers (CMPs), which endow even more intriguing properties/applications, especially in optoelectronics, energy storage, and sensors. In particular, within the domain of CMPs, luminescent CMPs enjoy the advantage of possessing aggregation-induced emission (AIE) and long-range exciton migration accompanied by the intrinsic properties such as microporosity and high surface area. The significant host–guest interactions and fast analyte diffusion facilitated by the microporous environment along with the efficient exciton migration through the polymer network will be fundamental for fast and highly sensitive chemical sensing. The unique structural features in conjunction with the selective properties and encouraging applications of the fluorescent CMPs have triggered a great deal of interest, which have led to rapid progress in the development of structurally diverse fluorescent CMPs. In this review, we present a comprehensive summary of all the advances in the development of fluorescent CMPs based on tetraphenyl ethene (TPE), phenylene, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and boron- and nitrogen-based π-systems and their emerging applications in numerous fields as well as our perspectives on future research.