Covalent Triazine-Based Frameworks as Visible Light Photocatalysts for the Splitting of Water

Covalent triazine-based frameworks (CTFs) with a graphene-like layered morphology have been controllably synthesized by the trifluoromethanesulfonic acid-catalyzed nitrile trimerization reactions at room temperature via selecting different monomers. Platinum nanoparticles are well dispersed in CTF-T1, which is ascribed to the synergistic effects of the coordination of triazine moieties and the nanoscale confinement effect of CTFs. CTF-T1 exhibits excellent photocatalytic activity and stability for H-2 evolution in the presence of platinum under visible light irradiation ( 420 nm). The activity and stability of CTF-T1 are comparable to those of g-C3N4. Importantly, as a result of the tailorable electronic and spatial structures of CTFs that can be achieved through the judicial selection of monomers, CTFs not only show great potential as organic semiconductor for photocatalysis but also may provide a molecular-level understanding of the inherent heterogeneous photocatalysis.