Spatially programmed regioisomeric conjugated microporous polymers modulating zinc sites for selective CO<sub>2</sub> photoreduction to CH<sub>4</sub>
Conjugated microporous polymers show great potential for photocatalytic CO<sub>2</sub> reduction into value-added products. However, their catalytic activity and selectivity remain significantly limited due to poor charge separation efficiency and the lack of suitable active sites. Herein, we propose a topology-driven dipole programming strategy that synergistically decouples atomic-level electronic configuration control from spatially resolved active site engineering. Crucially, the regioisomer-dependent π-topology governs light-harvesting ability, dipole polarization hierarchy, and directional charge transport networks. As a result, the designed Zn-TPA-BPy-1, featuring dipole polarization fields and Zn-N<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub> sites, exhibits exceptional photocatalytic CO<sub>2</sub> conversion activity, with a CH<sub>4</sub> evolution rate of 753.18 μmol g<sup>-1</sup> h<sup>-1</sup> and a high selectivity of 89.7%. Experimental and theoretical results reveal that asymmetric dipole arrays lower the energy barrier for *COOH and *CO intermediates while stabilizing *CHO intermediates through dynamic charge compensation, which contribute to the high activity and selectivity. This finding offers new insights into designing polymer-photocatalysts by subtle structural modulation for CO<sub>2</sub> conversion.
Authors
- Tianjun Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0008-1915-9069)
- Xingwang Lan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3178-1113)
- Juan Wang
- Chen Lü (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1927-2391)
- Haobo Xu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0002-3011-9291)
- Yong Chen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6689-8923)
Institutions
- Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
- Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry (CN)
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
- Hebei University (CN)
- University of Hong Kong (HK)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Chemical Science
- Published
- 2025-01-01
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1039/d5sc02835c
- Citations
- 6
- Primary Topic
- Covalent Organic Framework Applications
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 3.11
Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- Department of Education of Hebei Province
- Natural Science Foundation of Hebei Province
- Hebei University