Hydrogen evolution from water using heteroatom substituted fluorene conjugated co-polymers

The photocatalytic performance of fluorene-type polymer photocatalysts for hydrogen production from water in the presence of a sacrificial hole scavenger is significantly improved by the incorporation of heteroatoms into the bridge-head. This improvement can be explained by a combination of factors, including changes in thermodynamic driving-force, particle size, dispersibility under photocatalytic conditions, and light absorption, all of which vary as a function of the heteroatom incorporated.