Porous siloxane-organic hybrid with ultrahigh surface area through simultaneous polymerization-destruction of functionalized cubic siloxane cages.

A novel hierarchically porous, hyper-cross-linked siloxane-organic hybrid (PSN-5) has been synthesized by Friedel-Crafts self-condensation of benzyl chloride-terminated double-four-ring cubic siloxane cages as a singular molecular precursor. Simultaneous polymerization of the organic functional groups and destruction of the siloxane cages during synthesis yielded PSN-5, which has an ultrahigh BET surface area (∼2500 m(2) g(-1)) and large pore volume (∼3.3 cm(3) g(-1)) that to our knowledge are the highest values reported for siloxane-based materials. PSN-5 also shows a high H(2) uptake of 1.25 wt % at 77 K and 760 Torr.