Polymers of Intrinsic Microporosity Containing Tröger Base for CO₂ Capture

Properties of four polymers of intrinsic microporosity containing Tröger’s base units were assessed for CO₂ capture experimentally and computationally. Structural properties included average pore size, pore size distribution, surface area, and accessible pore volume, whereas thermodynamic properties focused on density, CO₂ sorption isotherms, and enthalpies of adsorption. It was found that the shape of the contortion site plays a more important role than the polymer density when assessing the capacity of the material, and that the presence of a Tröger base unit only slightly affects the amount adsorbed at low pressures, but it does not have any significant influence on the enthalpy of adsorption fingerprint. A comparison of the materials studied with those reported in the literature allowed us to propose a set of guidelines for the design of polymers for CO₂ capture applications