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Mesoporous polyetherimides are important high-performance polymers. Conventional strategies to prepare porous polyetherimides, and polyimide in general, are based on covalent organic framework or thermolysis of sacrificial polymers. The former produces micropores due to intrinsically crosslinked microstructures, and the latter results in macropores because of a blowing effect by the sacrificial polymers. The preparation of mesopores remains a challenge. Here we have prepared mesoporous polyetherimide films by hydrolyzing polylactide- b -polyetherimide- b -polylactide (AIA). Controlled by molecular weight and volume fraction of polylactide in AIA, the porous films exhibit an average pore width of 24 nm. The mesoporous polyetherimide films exhibit a storage modulus of ∼1 GPa at ambient temperatures. This work advances the chemistry of high-performance polymers and provides an alternative strategy to prepare mesoporous polymers, enabling potential use as high-performance membranes for separation, purification, and electrochemistry. 

Abstract Graphene holds promise for thin, ultralightweight, and high‐performance nanoelectromechanical transducers. However, graphene‐only devices are limited in size due to fatigue and fracture of suspended graphene membranes. Here, a lightweight, flexible, transparent, and conductive bilayer composite of polyetherimide and single‐layer graphene is prepared and suspended on the centimeter scale with an unprecedentedly high aspect ratio of 10⁵. The coupling of the two components leads to mutual reinforcement and creates an ultrastrong membrane that supports 30 000 times its own weight. Upon electromechanical actuation, the membrane pushes a massive amount of air and generates high‐quality acoustic sound. The energy efficiency is≈10–100 times better than state‐of‐the‐art electrodynamic speakers. The bilayer membrane's combined properties of electrical conductivity, mechanical strength, optical transparency, thermal stability, and chemical resistance will promote applications in electronics, mechanics, and optics.