Construction of a transition-metal-free mesoporous organic phenanthroline-based polymeric catalyst for boosting direct activation of aromatic C–H bonds

Abstract

A novel mesoporous organic phenanthroline-based polymer (POP-Phen-E) was synthesized as a transition-metal-free catalyst for the direct activation of aromatic C–H bonds. The catalytic activity of POP-Phen-E is significantly higher than that of the corresponding homogeneous catalyst, which benefits from the introduction of electron-donating groups, and the enhancement of the adsorption capacity for reactants.