Uncovering the origin of full-spectrum visible-light-responsive polypyrrole supramolecular photocatalysts

Environmentally friendly polypyrrole (PPy) catalysts with conjugated nanostructures for superior photophysical and photoelectric applications are developed. The high coplanar structure via α-α connection is benefit for the transferring of photo-induced electron and improving the life of the light generated carrier. Importantly, the energy level structure of conjugated polymers was obtained via theoretical calculation and the photocatalytic mechanism of PPy photocatalyst was illuminated in detail. O2− are the main radical responsible for the degradation of MO. Moreover, conjugated PPy photocatalysts are stable with cycling. Compared to P25 and g-C3N4, PPy showed excellent photocatalytic performance for degradation of organic pollutants in full spectrum and visible light, the reaction rate constants of PPy are 4.27 and 5.31 times as much as the P25, respectively. Furthermore, PPy also exhibited effective photocatalytic performance towards different organic pollutants. These results obviously open interesting perspectives of using conjugated polymer and provide theoretical guidance for designing new organic photocatalysts to solve the energy and environment issues.