Junfeng Zeng’s research while affiliated with Hunan University and other places

Hyper-crosslinked porous ionic polymers (HCPIPs) have garnered significant attention due to their unique ionic properties and high specific surface areas. However, the limited variety of monomers, low ionic density, and difficulty in functionalization restrict their development. Herein, a series of functionalized non-cationic HCPIPs with high ionic density are designed and directly synthesized via an innovative and straightforward approach – anion (and cation) hyper-crosslinking of tetraphenylborate-based ionic liquids (ILs). These HCPIPs offer controllable hydroxyl group content (0–2.40 mmol g⁻¹), high IL content (1.20–1.78 mmol g⁻¹), and large specific surface area (636–729 m² g⁻¹) with hierarchically ordered porous structures. These HCPIPs demonstrate exceptional CO2 adsorption capacities and CO2/N2 adsorption selectivities, reaching up to 2.68–3.01 mmol g⁻¹ and 166–237, respectively, at 273 K and 1 bar. Furthermore, these ionic porous materials serve as highly efficient heterogeneous catalysts for CO2 cycloaddition to epoxides under mild conditions (1 bar CO2, 60–80 °C, 12–24 h). Notably, the CO2 adsorption performances and catalytic activities of these HCPIPs are regulated by the hydroxyl groups within their structures, with enhancements observed as the number of hydroxyl groups increases. This work presents a facile and widely applicable method for constructing high-performance and task-specific HCPIPs.

Increasing the liquid content has been recognized as an effective strategy to enhance the Li+ conductivity and electrode compatibility of gel electrolytes for lithium-metal batteries (LMBs). However, a low gelator...

Hyper-crosslinked porous ionic polymers (HCPIPs) are important materials for CO2 capture and catalytic conversion. In this work, we used ion exchange to combine the cross-linking-active tetraphenylborate anion (BPh4-) with a...

The local microenvironment of single-atom electrocatalysts (SACs) governs their activity and selectivity. While previous studies have focused on the first coordination shell (FCS) of metal centers, functional species beyond FCS...