Abstract
Conjugated polymers (CPs) as photocatalysts have evoked substantial interest. Their geometries and physical (e.g., chemical and thermal stability and solubility), optical (e.g., light absorption range), and electronic properties (e.g., charge carrier mobility, redox potential, and exciton binding energy) can be easily tuned via structural design. In addition, they are of light weight (i.e., mainly composed of C, N, O, and S). To improve the photocatalytic performance of CPs and better understand the catalytic mechanisms, many strategies with respect to material design have been proposed. These include tuning the bandgap, enlarging the surface area, enabling more efficient separation of electron–hole pairs, and enhancing the charge carrier mobility. In particular, donor–acceptor (D–A) polymers were demonstrated as a promising platform to develop high-performance photocatalysts due to their easily tunable bandgaps, high charge carrier mobility, and efficient intramolecular charge transfer. In this minireview, recent advances of D–A polymers in photocatalytic hydrogen evolution are summarized with a particular focus on modulating the optical and electronic properties of CPs by varying the acceptor units. The challenges and prospects associated with D–A polymer-based photocatalysts are described as well.
Highlights
To date, fossil fuels still are the predominant energy source around the world
Fossil fuels still are the predominant energy source around the world. This leads to severe environmental problems, such as the ever-worsening global warming due to the excessive emission of greenhouse gases and the pollution by poisonous gases and particles generated during the incomplete combustions of fossil fuels
These results reveal that slight structural changes could significantly modulate the properties and photocatalytic activities of conjugated triazine frameworks (CTFs)
Summary
Fossil fuels still are the predominant energy source around the world. This leads to severe environmental problems, such as the ever-worsening global warming due to the excessive emission of greenhouse gases and the pollution by poisonous gases and particles generated during the incomplete combustions of fossil fuels. Cooper et al [77] reasoned that porous polymers might be better than linear counterparts to promote photocatalytic hydrogen evolution as long as the charge carrier transport was not compromised by the 3D structures This claim was exemplified by the 9,9'-spirobifluorene–FSO-based porous polymer P63 (Figure 8), which exhibited the best catalytic performance under visible light among the linear and porous polymers in that work, with a HER of 77.65 μmol·h−1 (25 mg). Cyano-containing conjugated polymers As summarized above, the D–A architecture is a fundamental design principle toward high-performance polymer-based photocatalysts, and selecting proper donor and acceptor components significantly influences the eventual photocatalytic activity.
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