XE-129 NMR-STUDIES OF HYPER-CROSS-LINKED POLYARYLCARBINOLS - RIGID VERSUS FLEXIBLE STRUCTURES

Xenon NMR is used with adsorption measurements to infer information about the microstructure of some novel hyper-cross-linked polyarylcarbinols. It is shown that rigidrod connecting units are necessary for microporosity in these systems, as hyper-cross-linked polymers based on flexible structures are found to have conventional surface areas and xenon NMR spectra. A microporous polymer based on rigid triarylcarbinol monomers shows high xenon uptake and a linear chemical shift variation with pressure at room temperature. Spin-lattice relaxation and cross-polarization dynamics are studied at low temperatures. In this regime the xenon has extremely long equilibration times, and the adsorption dynamics are complicated but give important insight into the polymer topology. The data are compared with two possible models of the polymer microstructwre.