Modulating N‐Heterocyclic Microenvironment in <i>β</i> ‐Ketoenamine Covalent Organic Frameworks to Boost Overall Photosynthesis of H <sub>2</sub> O <sub>2</sub>
Covalent Organic Frameworks (COFs) have emerged as promising platforms for photocatalytic synthesis of hydrogen peroxide (H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub>) due to their tunable chemical compositions and efficient catalytic functionalities. Inspired by the role of the microenvironment in enzyme catalysis, this study introduces various N-heterocyclic species into β-ketoenamine COFs (N<sub>x</sub>-COFs, where N<sub>x</sub> represents the number of nitrogen atoms in the N-heterocycle) to regulate the microenvironment around catalytic sites on acceptor-donor-acceptor (A-D-A) COFs foroverall H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub> photosynthesis in pure water. The N<sub>x</sub>-COFs exhibit distinct H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub> photosynthetic rates following the number of nitrogen atoms sequence of N<sub>3</sub>-COF > N<sub>2</sub>-COF > N<sub>1</sub>-COF > N<sub>0</sub>-COF, with N<sub>3</sub>-COF with triazine structure showing the highest H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub> generation rate (4881 µmol h<sup>-1</sup> g<sup>-1</sup>) and the decent solar-to-chemical conversion (SCC) efficiency (0.413%), surpassing many existing COF-based catalysts. In situ characterization and theoretical calculations support the experimental results, revealing that N-heterocyclic species promote the photosynthesis of H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub> through both an indirect stepwise single-electron oxygen reduction reaction (1e<sup>-</sup> ORR) mechanism and a direct two-electron water oxidation (2e<sup>-</sup> WOR) pathway. This study advances the design paradigm of photocatalysts by modulating the microenvironment within A-D-A COFs, paving the way for the development of more efficient and robust photocatalytic systems for the overall photosynthesis of H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub>.
Authors
- Fangyuan Kang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4279-2929)
- Yuehan Zhao
- Youting Wu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4449-1561)
- Yangpeng Zhang
- Hailing Ma (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5650-3713)
- Yang Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6872-6815)
- Zhonghua Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1086-0998)
- Qichun Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1854-8659)
- Xiaoli Fan
- Yue Gao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0129-4018)
Institutions
- City University of Hong Kong (HK)
- Harbin Institute of Technology (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Small
- Published
- 2025-02-28
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/smll.202500674
- Citations
- 37
- Primary Topic
- Covalent Organic Framework Applications
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 19.16
Funders
- City University of Hong Kong
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- Innovation and Technology Fund
- State Key Laboratory of Supramolecular Structure and Materials