In Situ Water-Compatible Polymer Entrapment: A Strategy for Transferring Superhydrophobic Microporous Organic Polymers to Water

Microporous organic polymer nanoparticles bearing tetraphenylethylene moieties (MOPTs) were prepared in the presence of poly­(vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP). The PVP was entrapped into the microporous network of MOPT to form MOPT-P and played the roles of size control, porosity enhancement, and surface property management. MOPT materials without PVP showed superhydrophobicity with a water contact angle of 151°. In comparison, the MOPT-P showed excellent water compatibility. Moreover, due to the aggregation-induced emission property of tetraphenylethylene moieties, the MOPT-P showed emission and excellent emission-based sensing of nitrophenols in water with K_sv values in the range of 1.26 × 10⁴ ∼ 3.37 × 10⁴ M^–1. It is noteworthy that the MOPT-P used water only as a sensing medium and did not require additional organic solvents to enhance water dispersibility of materials. The MOPT-P could be recovered and reused for the sensing at least five times.