A Carbocationic Triarylmethane-Based Porous Covalent Organic Network.

A thermally stable carbocationic covalent organic network (CON), named RIO-70 was prepared from pararosaniline hydrochloride, an inexpensive dye, and triformylphloroglucinol in solvothermal conditions. This nanoporous organic material has shown a specific surface area of 990 m2 g-1 and pore size of 10.3 Å. The material has CO2 uptake of 2.14 mmol g-1 (0.5 bar), 2.7 mmol g-1 (1 bar), and 6.8 mmol g-1 (20 bar), the latter corresponding to 3 CO2 molecules adsorbed per pore per sheet. It is shown to be a semiconductor, with electrical conductivity (σ) of 3.17×10-7  S cm-1 , which increases to 5.26×10-4  S cm-1 upon exposure to I2 vapor. DFT calculations using periodic conditions support the findings.