Donor–Acceptor Porous Conjugated Polymers for Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production: The Importance of Acceptor Comonomer

• DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.6b01764
• Publication Date: 2016-09-13T18:52:14Z
• Authors: Lianwei Li; Wai-yip Lo; Zhengxu Cai; Na Zhang; Luping Yu
• Keywords: Comonomer; Acceptor; Reactivity

Porous conjugated polymer (PCP) is a new kind of photocatalyst for photocatalytic hydrogen production (PHP). Here, we report the importance electronic properties acceptor comonomer in determining reactivity 4,8-di(thiophen-2-yl)benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b′]dithiophene (DBD)-based PCP PHP application. It was found that incorporation nitrogen-containing ligand monomers into network an effective strategy to enhance activity. These moderately electron-deficient comonomers enhanced dipole polarization effect. PCPs exhibit appropriate solid-state morphology charge transport. Powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies demonstrate these materials are semicrystalline materials. A strong correlation between crystalline property and activity observed. The replacement acceptors with ligand-free proved be detrimental process, indicating proper choice monomer pair important achieving high photoactivity.