Enhanced Built‐in Electric Field Promotes Photocatalytic Hydrogen Performance of Polymers Derived from the Introduction of B←N Coordination Bond
Chenglong Ru, Peiyan Chen, Xuan Wu, Changjuan Chen, Jin Zhang, Hao Zhao, Jincai Wu, Xiaobo Pan
Abstract
Abstract High concentrations of active carriers on the surface of a semiconductor through energy/electron transfer are the core process in the photocatalytic hydrogen production from water. However, it remains a challenge to significantly improve photocatalytic performance by modifying simple molecular modulation. Herein, a new strategy is proposed to enhance the photocatalytic hydrogen evolution performance using boron and nitrogen elements to construct B←N coordination bonds. Experimental results show that polynaphthopyridine borane ( PNBN ) possessing B←N coordination bonds shows a hydrogen evolution rate of 217.4 µmol h −1 , which is significantly higher than that of the comparison materials 0 µmol h −1 for polyphenylnaphthalene ( PNCC ) and 0.66 µmol h −1 for polypyridylnaphthalene ( PNNC ), mainly attributed to the formation of a strong built‐in electric field that promotes the separation of photo‐generated electrons/holes. This work opens up new prospects for the design of highly efficient polymeric photocatalysts at the molecular level.