Hierarchically Mesoporous o‐Hydroxyazobenzene Polymers: Synthesis and Their Applications in CO2 Capture and Conversion

Abstract The synthesis of hierarchically mesoporous polymers with multiple functionalities is challenging. Herein we reported a template‐free strategy for synthesis of phenolic azo‐polymers with hierarchical porous structures based on diazo‐coupling reaction in aqueous solution under mild conditions. The resultant polymers have surface areas up to 593 m 2 g −1 with the mesopore ratio of >80 %, and a good ability to complex with metal ions, such as Cu 2+ , Zn 2+ ,Ni 2+ , achieving a metal loading up to 26.24 wt %. Moreover, the polymers complexed with Zn showed excellent performance for catalyzing the reaction of CO 2 with epoxide, affording a TOF of 2570 h −1 in the presence of tetrabutyl ammonium bromide (7.2 mol %). The polymer complexed with Cu could catalyze the oxidation of alcohol with high efficiency.