Preparation of unconventional dendrimers that contain rigid NH-triazine linkages and peripheral tert-butyl moieties for CO2 -selective adsorption

Abstract

Three unconventional dendrimers that contained rigid NH-triazine linkages and peripheral tert-butyl moieties were prepared by using a convergent approach and characterized by (1)H and (13)C NMR spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, and elemental analysis. Based on a thermogravimetric analysis study, these dendrimers were observed to display thermal stability at about 300 °C. The NH-triazine moiety, which possessed protonated and proton-free nitrogen sites (like the imidazole unit), displayed the capture of polarizable CO2 molecules through hydrogen-bond and/or dipole-quadrupole interactions. In addition, the adsorption of various amounts of CO2 and N2 at different pressures suggests that the dendritic pores, which arise from the stacking of the middle co-planar and rim protuberant dendrimers, Gn -N∼N-Gn (n=1-3), either swell or shrink at high pressure, thus indicating that these dendrimers may have a breathing ability.

Keywords: adsorption; carbon dioxide; dendrimers; heterocycles; pores.