A few years ago, we initiated a research programme with the objective of preparing network polymers that possess amorphous microporous structures similar to that of activated carbon, but with a range of well-defined surface chemistries. Considering its enormous commercial importance and the limited scope for systematic chemical or structural modification that it offers, it is surprising that the structure of activated carbon had not previously inspired imitation. Indeed, with the exception of Webster’s poly(arylcarbinol) network polymers and Davanov’s hypercrosslinked polystyrenes,both of which demonstrate high surface areas (800-1200 m~2 g~(-1)), the concept of introducing robust microporosity within polymeric materials was largely unexplored – in contrast to the intense research efforts devoted to the control of polymer macro- and meso-porosity.
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