Group of microporous polymers
Department of physical and macromolecular chemistry Faculty of Science UK
We enriched the 72nd Congress of Chemists with one poster communication and three lectures, which summarized the progress of research work within our group. (2020)
Our group on Bayreuth Polymer Symposium 2019
The aims of our research
The development of porous materials with permanent micropores (diameter up to 2 nm) and/or mesopores (diameter 2 – 50 nm) and a large specific surface area (hundreds to several thousands m2/g) belongs to the most important scopes of the contemporary material research. The materials of this type are interesting for their catalytic and sorption applications. The micro/mesoporous materials could serve as heterogeneous catalysts or as supports for anchoring the homogeneous catalysts, however, they can also be used for gas trapping, separation and storage and for a selective adsorption of solutes from the solutions. In the last decade, the research in this field was extended by a new class of porous materials mostly referred to as “Microporous Organic Polymers” (MOPs). MOPs are hydrocarbon polymers often containing heteroatoms like O, N, F, S, Cl and possessing exclusively covalent bonding of the atoms and functional groups. Most MOPs have the architecture of polymer networks composed of densely cross-linked rigid segments. This architecture prevents a tight packing of the polymer segments which results in the formation of permanent micropores in the network. The formation of the mesopores in MOPs proceeds via a covalent interconnecting of small particles of microporous network.
Our group is interested in development and synthesis of conjugated MOPs and revealing the relations between the methods and conditions of the preparation on one side and structural, textural and functional parameters of the prepared MOPs on the other side. The conjugation contributes to the rigidity and porous texture of MOPs, moreover, thanks to a proper character of conjugation, MOPs can exhibit interesting functional properties such as photoluminescence. We apply mainly functional arylacetylenes as the building blocks and both catalyzed and catalyst-free chain-growth polymerizations and polycyclotrimerizations for their transformation into conjugated MOPs. The polymerizations require a proper tuning to provide MOPs with desirable amount and size of the pores. The chemical composition of the pore surface represents another variable important for the applications. The composition, structure and texture characteristics of MOPs are mostly obtained by means of IR, UV/VIS, fluorescence and 13C CP/MAS NMR spectroscopy, electron microscopy and adsorption techniques.
An important question is whether the MOPs prepared by us possess desirable functional properties. We are addressing this question within the framework of cooperation with various “friendly” institutions, for example: Jaroslav Heyrovský Institute of Physical Chemistry (The Czech Academy of Sciences) and University of Chemistry and Technology in Prague. And the answer? Some prepared MOPs exhibit a high adsorption capacity for carbon dioxide and vapor of lower alcohols, other MOPs are efficient organocatalysts. And still others: here an alternative procedure of the polymerization or a postpolymerization modification will be necessary to improve the functional properties. If you want to participate in solving these problems and develop your bachelor's, master's or doctoral thesis on the theme of MOPs, come and visit our laboratory.
Our polymers
Eye view:
Microscope view:
Head of the group
doc. RNDr. Jan Sedláček, Dr.jan.sedlacek@natur.cuni.cz
Post-docs
Bogdana Bashta Ph.D. (2017)
Ph.D. students
Mgr. David Šorm
Mgr. Alena Hašková
Mgr. Lucie Havelková
Pregradual students
Bc. Jiří Sokol
Former group members
Bc. Štěpánka Titlová
Mgr. Tomáš Faukner, PhD.
Mgr. Yulia Zhernakova
RNDr. Eva Slováková, Ph.D.
Mgr. Radoslava Sivkova, Ph.D.
Mgr. Sabina Stahlová, Ph.D.
Publications
Microporous hyper-cross-linked polyacetylene networks: Covalent structure and texture modification by reversible Schiff-base chemistry
Bogdana Bashta, Alena Hašková, Tomáš Faukner, Moataz A. Elsawy, David Šorm, Jiří Brus and Jan Sedláček
European Polymer Journal, 2020
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eurpolymj.2020.109914
Sulfonated Hyper-Cross-Linked Porous Polyacetylene Networks As Versatile Heterogeneous Acid Catalysts
Lada Sekerová, Pavlína Březinová, Thuy Tran Do, Eliška Vyskočilová, Jiří Krupka, Libor Červený, Lucie Havelková, Bogdana Bashta, and Jan Sedláček
ChemCatChem, 2020
Synthesis of Hyper-Cross-Linked Microporous Poly(phenylacetylene)s Having Aldehyde and Other Groups and Their Chemisorption and Physisorption Ability
Lucie Havelková, Alena Hašková, Bogdana Bashta, Jiří Brus, Miloslav Lhotka, Eva Vrbová, Martin Kindl, Eliška Vyskočilová and Jan Sedláček
European Polymer Journal, 2019
DOI: 10.1016/j.eurpolymj.2019.02.039
Hyper‐Cross‐Linked Polyacetylene‐Type Microporous Networks Decorated with Terminal Ethynyl Groups as Heterogeneous Acid Catalysts for Acetalization and Esterification Reactions
Lada Sekerková, Miroslav Lhotka, Eliška Vyskočilová, Tomáš Faukner, Eva Slováková, Jiří Brus, Libor Červený and Jan Sedláček
Chem. Eur. J., 2018
Homo- and Copolycyclotrimerization of Aromatic Internal Diynes Catalyzed with Co2(CO)8: A Facile Route to Microporous Photoluminescent Polyphenylenes with Hyperbranched or Crosslinked Architecture
Jan Sedláček, Jiří Sokol, Jiří Zedník, Tomáš Faukner, Martin Kubů, Jiří Brus and Olga Trhlíková
Macromol. Rapid Commun., 2017
Substituted Polyacetylenes Prepared with Rh Catalysts: From Linear to Network-Type Conjugated Polymers
Jan Sedláček and Hynek Balcar
Polymer Reviews, 2017
DOI: 10.1080/15583724.2016.1144207
Microporous conjugated polymers via homopolymerization of 2,5-diethynylthiophene
Dmitrij Bondarev, Radoslava Sivkova, Pavol Šuly, Martina Polášková, Ondřej Krejčí, Radka Křikavová, Zdeněk Trávníček, Arnošt Zukal, Martin Kubů and Jan Sedláček
European polymer journal, 2017
DOI: 10.1016/j.eurpolymj.2017.04.042
Unexpectedly Facile Rh(I) Catalyzed Polymerization of Ethynylbenzaldehyde Type Monomers: Synthesis of Polyacetylenes Bearing Reactive and Easy Transformable Pendant Carbaldehyde Groups
Jan Sedláček, Lucie Havelková, Jiří Zedník, Radek Coufal, Tomáš Faukner, Hynek Balcar and Jiří Brus
Macromol. Rapid Commun., 2017
Ionic π-Conjugated Polymer Networks by Catalyst-Free Polymerization, Photoluminescence and Gas Sorption Behavior
Tomáš Faukner, Arnošt Zukal, Jiří Brus, Jiří Zedník and Jan Sedláček
Macromol. Chem. Phys., 2016
Copolymerization of N-(prop-1-yne-3-yl)-4-(piperidine-1-yl)-1,8-naphthalimide with Arylacetylenes into Fluorescent Polyacetylene-Type Conjugated Polymers
Radoslava Sivkova, Olga Trhlíková, Jiří Zedník and Jan Sedláček
Macromol. Chem. Phys., 2015
Chain-growth copolymerization of functionalized ethynylarenes with 1,4-diethynylbenzene and 4,4′-diethynylbiphenyl into conjugated porous networks
Sabina Stahlová, Eva Slováková, Petra Vaňkátová, Arnošt Zukal, Martin Kubů, Jiří Brus, Dmitrij Bondarev, Robert Moučka, Jan Sedláček
European Polymer Journal, 2015
DOI: 10.1016/j.eurpolymj.2015.03.070
Chain-Growth Insertion Polymerization of 1,3-Diethynylbenzene 
High Internal Phase Emulsions into Reactive π-Conjugated Foams
Eva Slováková, Marjan Ješelnik, Ema Žagar, Jiří Zedník, Jan Sedláček and Sebastijan Kovačič
Macromolecules, 2014
DOI: 10.1021/ma501142d
Transition-Metal-Catalyzed Chain-Growth Polymerization of 1,4-Diethynylbenzene into Microporous Crosslinked Poly(phenylacetylene)s: the Effect of Reaction Conditions
Eva Slováková, Arnošt Zukal, Jiří Brus, Hynek Balcar, Libor Brabec, Dmitrij Bondarev and Jan Sedláček
Macromol. Chem. Phys., 2014
New Hyper-Crosslinked Partly Conjugated Networks with Tunable Composition by Spontaneous Polymerization of Ethynylpyridines with Bis(bromomethyl)arenes: Synthesis, Spectral Properties, and Activity in CO2 Capture
Sabina Petrášová, Arnoš Zukal, Jiří Brus, Hynek Balcar, Jakub Pastva, Jiří Zedník and Jan Sedláček
Macromol. Chem. Phys., 2013
Polycyclotrimers of 1,4-Diethynylbenzene, 2,6-Diethynylnaphthalene, and 2,6-Diethynylanthracene: Preparation and Gas Adsorption Properties
Arnošt Zukal, Eva Slováková, Hynek Balcar and Jan Sedláček
Macromol. Chem. Phys., 2013
Polyacetylene-Type Networks Prepared by Coordination Polymerization of Diethynylarenes: New Type of Microporous Organic Polymers
Vladimíra Hanková, Eva Slováková, Jiří Zedník, Jiří Vohlídal, Radoslava Sivkova, Hynek Balcar, Arnošt Zukal, Jiří Brus and Jan Sedláček
Macromol. Rapid Commun., 2012
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