A Bioinspired Photocatalysis and Electrochemiluminescence Scaffold for Simultaneous Degradation and In Situ Evaluation

Nanostructured scaffolds that optimize self-responsive ability, visible light harvesting, redox center distribution, and species shuttling porosity have been mimicked much less often, especially using organic crystalline substances. Inspired by a natural photosynthetic thylakoid membrane, a synthetic strategy with general applicability to construct a hollow organic crystalline nanosphere by orderly hybridizing imine-linked covalent organic frameworks (COFs) with polymeric hollow g-C3N4 nanosphere is proposed. As a proof-of-concept application, in a homemade microreaction cell, these hollow organic nanospheres are shown to function as robust scaffolds, heterojunction shells, and light-harvesting antennas, enabling excellent visible-light-driven photocatalysis for the almost complete degradation of tetracycline, a gravely residual antibiotic worldwide. Significantly, a new electrochemiluminescence (ECL) technology derived from biomimetic self-responsiveness is developed for in situ evaluation of the photodegradation process, accessing kinetics and other relevant parameters at an extremely low-abundance target, which remains challenging to date, albeit highly desirable. This work provides a general synthetic strategy for obtaining COFs-derived hollow crystalline organic nanospheres for promising photocatalysis applications and offers a new perspective on the development of ECL technology for simultaneous analysis and treatment of actual sewage.

Automated summary

This article proposes a synthetic strategy inspired by the natural photosynthetic thylakoid membrane to construct hollow organic crystalline nanospheres. These nanospheres, obtained by hybridizing imine-linked COFs with polymeric hollow g-C3N4 nanospheres, can function as robust scaffolds, heterojunction shells, and light-harvesting antennas for efficient visible-light-driven photocatalysis. Additionally, a new electrochemiluminescence (ECL) technology is developed for in situ evaluation of the photodegradation process, enabling analysis and treatment of actual sewage.