A Vinylene-Bridged Conjugated Covalent Triazine Polymer as a Visible-Light-Active Photocatalyst for Degradation of Methylene Blue

Abstract

The development of new photocatalytic platforms using novel semiconductor material is an important challenge. Herein, a sp² carbon-conjugated covalent triazine polymer (sp² c-CTP-4), featuring a vinylene bridge and extended π-conjugation, is prepared as a highly efficient photocatalyst for degradation of methylene blue. sp² c-CTP-4 exhibits substantial semiconducting properties such as enhanced charge transfer and prolonged lifetime of carriers compared to its counterparts with CN or CC connections, likely due to its extended π-delocalization with an unencumbered CC bridge. Moreover, benefiting from its high chemical stability, the as-made catalyst can be recycled five times with good retention of photocatalytic activity. This study provides a new pathway for constructing a robust platform for efficient photocatalysis and gives insight into the structure-property relationship of conjugated polymers.

Keywords: catalysis; charge transfer; conjugated polymers; photochemistry; structure-property relations.