Upcycling of polyphenylene ether waste products to hypercrosslinked organic porous materials

Dimethyl phenol (DMP) oligomers are a side product of industrial poly(phenylethyl ether) (PPE) fabrication and significantly contribute to the environmental burden associated with PPE application. Here, a new process for the upcycling of waste-derived DMP into hyper-crosslinked porous polymer networks through Friedel-Crafts alkylation with p- dichloroxylene as an external crosslink agent is presented. The resulting hypercrosslinked porous polymers exhibited a maximum BET surface area of 740 m2/g and displayed and adsorption capacity of 5.9 wt% and 0.85 wt% towards CO2 (at 1.0 bar, 298 K) and H2 (at 1.0 bar, 77.3 K), respectively. Form stability of micro- and mesopores was attributed to the rigidity of the aromatic network structure. The results suggest new opportunities for the upcycling of DMP-waste components for applications such as carbon capture that could reduce the negative environmental const associated with the fabrication and application of PPE and related engineering polymers.