‘Connecting the Dots’: Knitting C-Phenylresorcin[4]arenes with Aromatic Linkers for Task-Specific Porous Organic Polymers

Taking C-phenylresorcin[4]arene (RN4) as a model building block, we fabricated a series of porous organic polymers (POPs: RN4-OH, RN4-Az-OH, and RN4-F) where the surface area was enhanced up to ~8 folds (1229 m² g^-1) than that of the pristine cavitand (156 m² g^-1). The advantage of connecting the 0D porous cavitands was demonstrated through three environmentally relevant applications, namely, catalytic conversion of CO₂ to value-added products, selective gas (CO₂, H₂) uptake, and the charge-specific size-selective separation of organic micropollutants from water. In all the cases, RN4-derived POPs have outperformed the pristine 0D porous macrocyclic cavitand.