Enhanced carbon dioxide capture in an indole-based microporous organic polymer via synergistic effects of indoles and their adjacent carbonyl groups

A carbonyl-functionalized indole-based microporous organic polymer (PKIN) was designed and synthesized in the presence of the FeCl3 catalyst by a facile direct oxidative coupling reaction. Taking advantage of the synergistic effect of indoles and their adjacent carbonyl moieties on carbon dioxide (CO2), the CO2 uptake capacity of the polymer reaches up to 6.12 mmol g(-1) (1.0 bar, 273 K) with high gas selectivities, making the polymer a promising microporous material for the application of CO2 separation and capture, and the proposed synergistic effect is expected to be a new rationale for the design of CO2 capture materials.