Facile synthesis of cost-effective porous aromatic materials with enhanced carbon dioxide uptake

Porous aromatic frameworks (PAF-32s) derived from tetrahedral monomers as basic building units have been successfully synthesized via the Friedel–Crafts alkylation reaction in the presence of the inexpensive catalyst FeCl3. The resulting PAF-32 materials possess high stabilities and high surface areas up to 1679 m2 g−1. In particular, amino and hydroxyl functional groups have been introduced into the networks. The corresponding functionalized PAF materials (PAF-32-NH2 and PAF-32-OH) display enhanced CO2 adsorption capacities and higher heats of adsorption (Qst) than the non-functionalized PAF-32.