Precisely Controlled Multidimensional Covalent Frameworks: Polymerization of Supramolecular Colloids

Rapid and selective removal of micropollutants from water is important for the reuse of water resources. Despite hollow frameworks with specific functionalized porous walls for the selective adsorption based on a series of interactions, tailoring a stable shape of nanometer- and micrometer-sized architectures for the removal of specific pollutants remains a challenge. Here, exactly controlled sheets, tubes, and spherical frameworks were presented from the crosslinking of supramolecular colloids in polar solvents. The frameworks strongly depended on the architecture of original supramolecular colloids. As the entropy of colloids increased, the initial laminar framework rolled up into hollow tubules, and then further curled into hollow spheres. These shape-persistent frameworks showed unprecedented selectivity as well as specific recognition for the shape of pollutants, thus contributing to efficient pollutant separation.