Strategic Design and Synthesis of Ferrocene Linked Porous Organic Frameworks toward Tunable CO2 Capture and Energy Storage

This work focuses on porous organic polymers (POPs), which have gained significant global attention for their potential in energy storage and carbon dioxide (CO2) capture. The study introduces the development of two novel porous organic polymers, namely FEC-Mel and FEC-PBDT POPs, constructed using a simple method based on the ferrocene unit (FEC) combined with melamine (Mel) and 6,6′-(1,4-phenylene)bis(1,3,5-triazine-2,4-diamine) (PBDT). The synthesis involved the condensation reaction between ferrocenecarboxaldehyde monomer (FEC-CHO) and the respective aryl amines. Several analytical methods were employed to investigate the physical characteristics, chemical structure, morphology, and potential applications of these porous materials. Through thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), it was observed that both FEC-Mel and FEC-PBDT POPs exhibited exceptional thermal stability. FEC-Mel POP displayed a higher surface area and porosity, measuring 556 m2 g−1 and 1.26 cm3 g−1, respectively. These FEC-POPs possess large surface areas, making them promising materials for applications such as supercapacitor (SC) electrodes and gas adsorption. With 82 F g−1 of specific capacitance at 0.5 A g−1, the FEC-PBDT POP electrode has exceptional electrochemical characteristics. In addition, the FEC-Mel POP showed remarkable CO2 absorption capabilities, with 1.34 and 1.75 mmol g−1 (determined at 298 and 273 K; respectively). The potential of the FEC-POPs created in this work for CO2 capacity and electrical testing are highlighted by these results.