Synthesis of novel hyper-cross-linked chiral porous polymers and their applications in enantioselective adsorption of amino acids

Abstract A novel type of chiral porous network polymer was prepared by a simple one-step Friedel-Crafts reaction of L-Tryptophan with benzene. The resulting materials were mainly microporous with a high surface area and its porous structures can be adjusted by varying the ratio of the reactants. The polymer materials were extensively characterized by FT-IR spectroscopy, solid-state 13C CP/MAS spectra, TGA and N2 adsorption-desorption measurement. The chiral property of the chiral porous network polymers was studied by enantioselective adsorption experiments using circular-dichroism spectroscopy. The maximum saturated absorbency toward L-Tryptophan and D-Tryptophan was 55.36% and 41.82%, respectively. The approach presented in this paper open a new type of functional chiral materials with potential applications for chiral resolution.