###### Abstract
It should be emphasized that an effective sorbent with both a high capacity and a fast adsorption rate should possess two principal attributes: functional groups and a highly developed internal structure. However, a frequent phenomenon is the diminution of surface area along with the incorporation of a functional group into the polymer matrix. For example, using a dimethacrylate derivative of naphthalene-2,3-diol as a functional monomer to copolymerize DVB results in a material with a specific surface area of only 72 m\({}^{2}\)/g [43]. An analogical reaction of a diacrylate derivative of 4,4\({}^{\prime}\)-sulfanediol(tm) given a copolymer with an area equal to 103 m\({}^{2}\)/g [44]. In an equimolar reaction with DVB, 2,3-epoxypropyl methacrylate, an important polar monomer used in numerous syntheses, gives a product with a specific surface area of 143 m\({}^{2}\)/g [45]. For porous polymeric microspheres, it is also important that the porous structure be formed by pores of appropriate diameters. According to IUPAC [46], three classes of pores can be distinguished: micropores (linear dimension below 2 nm), mezopores (dimension 2-50 nm) and macropores (dimension above 50 nm). In many application mezoporous adsorbents are the best choice. The presence of mezopores in the internal structure results in moderate values of specific surface area. Although it is possible to synthesize porous polymers that have extremely high specific surface area, in this case the internal structure is microporous [47]. This fact significantly limits their application spectrum. As can be seen, for new sorbents with functional groups a considerable specific surface area and mesoporous structure are still required. Another important feature of porous polymers is their thermal behavior. In many of the aforementioned applications, materials with a considerable thermal resistance are indispensable. For example, gas chromatography or catalysis processes are often conducted at temperatures exceeding 200 \({}^{\circ}\)C. To ensure substantial thermal stability, the polymers have to be highly cross-linked. For this purpose, both aliphatic and aromatic multifunctional monomers, can be successfully employed. The use of bifunctional glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) with a tetrafunctional cross-linking monomer, i.e., ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA) [37; 48; 49] as well as bifunctional 4-vinylpyridine [50] or GMA [38] with hexafunctional trimethyllopropane trimethacrylate as a cross-linking agent resulted in porous microspheres resistant to about 200 \({}^{\circ}\)C. The improvement in thermal stability was obtained by replacing the aliphatic cross-linker, i.e., EGDMA with the aromatic one, i.e., di(methacryloyloxymethyl)naphthalene [51] or by using two tetrafunctional monomers, such as DVB and (4,6-dimethyl-1,3-phenylene)dimethylene bis(2-methylprop-2-enoate) [52] or DVB and dimethacrylate derivatives of naphthalene and diphenylmethananone [43]. The aim of this study was to conduct a detailed investigation into the properties of polymeric microspheres having a highly developed internal structure, remarkable thermal stability and diverse functional group. To achieve this goal, NVP, EGDMA, 4,4'-bis(methacryloyloxymethylphenyl)sulphphone (BMPPS), 4,4'-bis(methacryloyloxymethylphenyl) methanane (BMPM) and 1,4-bis(methacryloyloxymethyl)benzene (BMB) were used as functional monomers. In turn, DVB was used as a co-monomer. Moreover, a St-_co_-DVB copolymer was synthesized and regarded as a reference material. All of the obtained microspheres were comprehensively characterized. Their chemical structure was confirmed using ATR-FTI while their size and porous structure were determined by Mastersized Analyser scanning electron microscopy and a low-temperature nitrogen adsorption-desorption method. The thermal behavior of the copolymeric microspheres, including the identification of volatile decomposition products, was examined by thermogravimetry coupled with FTIR and differential scanning calorimetry.