Preparation of Recyclable and Versatile Porous Poly-Arylthioethers by Reversible Pd-Catalysed C–S/C–S Metathesis

Porous organic polymers have shown a number of promising properties; however, their application is usually hampered due to the lability of their linkages. Inspired by the outstanding chemical, mechanical and thermal resistance of the 1D polymer polyphenylene sulphide (PPS), we have designed a new family of 2D and 3D poly-arylthioethers, synthesised via a mild Pd-catalysed C–S/C–S metathesis-based method, that merges the attractive features common to porous polymers and PPS in a single material. In addition, the method is highly modular, allowing to easily introduce application-oriented functionalities in the materials for a series of environmentally relevant applications including metal capture, metal sensing and heterogeneous catalysis. Moreover, despite their extreme chemical resistance, the polymers can be easily recycled to recover the original monomers, offering an attractive perspective for their sustainable use.