Mechanochemical synthesis of hyper-crosslinked polymers: influences on their pore structure and adsorption behaviour for organic vapors

This study elucidates a mechanochemical polymerization reaction towards a hyper-crosslinked polymer as an alternative to conventional solvent-based procedures. The swift and solvent-free Friedel–Crafts alkylation reaction yields a porous polymer with surface areas of up to 1720 m2g −1 and pore volumes of up to 1.55 cm3g −1. The application of LAG (liquid-assisted grinding) revealed a profound impact of the liquid´s boiling point on the textural properties of the obtained polymer materials. Finally, the materials are characterized by vapour sorption experiments with benzene and cyclohexane.