Understanding at molecular level of nanoporous and co-crystalline materials based on syndiotactic polystyrene

New polymeric materials based on syndiotactic polystyrene (s-PS) are presented. These materials are able to absorb rapidly and efficiently volatile organic compounds from water and air, also when present at very low concentrations and can be considered as the first example of polymeric molecular sieves, as they display a high sorption selectivity similar to zeolites. To our knowledge, this is the first case of polymeric semicrystalline material whose sorption ability is higher for the crystalline phase than for the amorphous phase. Moreover, these new molecular sieves are hydrophobic and hence seem particularly suitable for water and moist air purification. Research work focused on experiments and modeling aimed to understand the properties of these materials in term of chemical structure will be reviewed. In particular, different aspects relative to the structure, absorption properties, host-guest interactions, penetrant diffusion and molecular guests mobility of these new polymeric materials will be covered. © 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.