Enhancing photocatalytic hydrogen production in conjugated porous polymers through donor-π-donor fragment insertion

Recent progress in conjugated polymer photocatalysts has opened avenues for enhancing photocatalytic hydrogen production (PHP) activity through structural design. This study highlights the impact of the acceptor-to-donor feed ratio on PHP activity in copolymers, influencing their energy level structures. Five conjugated porous polymers (CPPs) were synthesized by adjusting the acceptor-to-donor molar ratio. Notably, at a 2:1 acceptor-to-donor ratio, the polymer demonstrated a high hydrogen evolution rate (HER) of 61.9 mmol g−1 h−1 under full arc irradiation without co-catalysts and an apparent quantum yield (AQY) of 7.77% at 475 nm. However, further increasing the proportion of the donor unit in the copolymers decreases their HER. Experiments and theoretical simulation characterized that the feed ratios effectively tune the polymer's molecular structure, hydrophilicity, band gap, and the generation and transport efficiency of photo-induced charge carriers, ultimately affecting the hydrogen production kinetics and efficiency. This research demonstrates that tuning the band structure and chemical compositions of CPPs through statistical copolymerization significantly impacts their PHP activity.