Side-Chain Molecular Engineering of Triazole-Based Donor-Acceptor Polymeric Photocatalysts with Strong Electron Push-Pull Interactions.

By the integration of electron-deficient alkyl chain anchored triazole (TA) moieties and electron-rich pyrene units into the polymer skeleton, a new series of donor-acceptor (D-A) type semiconductive polymers were generated, bearing satisfactory light-harvesting ability and suitable bandgaps. Benefiting from the minimized exciton binding energy along with strongest D-A interaction and favorable hydrophilicity, P-TAME exhibits an outstanding photocatalytic H2 evolution rate of ~100 μmol h-1 (10 mg polymer, AQY420nm = 8.9%) and H2O2 production rate of ~190 μmol h-1 (20 mg polymer) under visible light irradiation, superior to most currently reported polymers. Besides, all these polymers can mediate water oxidation reactions to evolving O2. Thus, these TA-based polymers open a new avenue for tailor-made efficient photocatalysts with broad photocatalytic activities.