A novel Fluorescent conjugated polymer photocatalyst for hydrogen production based on knoevenagel polycondensation

A novel organic polymer photocatalyst (p-P) was designed and synthesized through developed through Knoevenagel condensation between terephthalaldehyde and p-phenylenediacetonitrile with high yield. The orange p-P polymer could emit a pink light at 629 nm under 371 nm with the luminescence quantum yields 2.57%. The cellular structure stacked by irregular polymer block was found in p-P polymer with small BET surface area of about 48.4 m2 g-1. p-P polymer was thermal stable under 400 0C and possessed high charge separation efficiency and low resistance in charge transportation. DFT calculation and electrochemical experimental results indicated that the reduction reaction of water over the polymer is thermodynamically feasible. p-P polymer could efficiently split water under visible light irradiation with a prominent H2 production rate up to 96.7 μmol g-1 h-1 with the TON of about 22.0. Our work provides a new strategy to building multifunctional conjugated polymer for efficient photocatalysis.