Adenine-functionalized conjugated polymer as an efficient photocatalyst for hydrogen evolution from water

Conjugated polymers have emerged as a promising class of organic photocatalysts for photocatalytic hydrogen evolution from water splitting due to their adjustable chemical structures and electronic properties. However, developing highly efficient organic polymer photocatalysts with high photocatalytic activity for hydrogen evolution remains a significant challenge. Herein, we present an efficient approach to enhance the photocatalytic performance of linear conjugated polymers by modifying the surface chemistry via introducing a hydrophilic adenine group into the side chain. The adenine unit with five nitrogen atoms could enhance the interaction between the surface of polymer photo -catalyst and water molecules through the formation of hydrogen bonding, which improves the hydrophilicity and dispersity of the resulting polymer photocatalyst in the photo-catalytic reaction solution. In addition, the strong electron-donating ability of adenine group with plentiful nitrogen atoms could promote the separation of light-induced electrons and holes. As a result, the adenine-functionalized conjugated polymer PF6A-DBTO2 shows a high photocatalytic activity with a hydrogen evolution rate (HER) of 25.21 mmol g(-1) h(-1) under UV-Vis light irradiation, which is much higher than that of its counterpart polymer PF6-DBTO2 without the adenine group (6.53 mmol g(-1) h(-1)). More importantly, PF6A-DBTO2 without addition of a Pt co-catalyst also exhibits an impressive HER of 21.93 mmol g(-1) h(-1) under visible light (l > 420 nm). This work highlights that it is an efficient strategy to improve the photocatalytic activity of conjugated polymer photo -catalysts by the modification of surface chemistry. (c) 2022 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

By introducing a hydrophilic adenine group into the side chain of conjugated polymers, the surface chemistry can be modified to enhance the photocatalytic performance and improve hydrogen evolution activity. The nitrogen atoms in the adenine unit increase the interaction between the polymer surface and water molecules, improving the hydrophilicity and dispersity of the polymer catalyst. Additionally, the strong electron-donating ability of the adenine group promotes the separation of light-induced electrons and holes.