Dispersions of 1,3,4-Oxadiazole-Linked Conjugated Microporous Polymers with Carbon Nanotubes as a High-Performance Electrode for Supercapacitors

In this study, we used classical and simple Sonogashira couplings to construct three 1,3,4-oxadiazole-linked conjugated microporous polymers (OXD-CMPs) through the reaction of 2,5-bis(4-bromophenyl)-1,3,4-oxadiazole (OXD-Br2) as a common partner with the structurally diverse units of ethynyl triphenylamine, tetraphenylethene, and pyrene, respectively. We used several methods, both spectroscopic and microscopic, to characterize the three OXD-CMPs. Each OXD-CMP displayed a high thermal stability. The Py-OXD-CMP possessed pores having sizes in the range 1.20–2.25 nm and a high surface area (298 m2 g–1). These OXD-CMPs interacted with singled-walled carbon nanotubes (CNTs), stabilized through noncovalent π–π interactions, to afford OXD-CMP/CNT composites that were suitable for supercapacitor devices. Among our OXD-CMP/CNT composites, the Py-OXD-CMP/CNT composite offered a specific capacitance of 504 F g–1 and a superior capacitance retention (91.1%) over 2000 cycles.