Dual‐Polarized Donor–Acceptor Polymer Unlocks Long‐Lived Triplet Excitons for High‐Efficiency H <sub>2</sub> O <sub>2</sub> Photosynthesis

ABSTRACT Long‐lived triplet excitons in polymers are crucial for driving oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in photocatalytic H 2 O 2 production, but their formation is typically limited by weak spin‐orbit coupling (SOC) and a large singlet–triplet splitting energy (Δ E ST ). Here we present a “dual‐polarized” strategy in a novel donor–acceptor (D–A) polymer (MQDP) containing S═N─C and C═N─C linkages. MQDP polymer was prepared via supramolecular precursor polymerization of acenaphthenequinone (AQ), dibenzothiophene‐5‐oxide (DPO), and melem (ME). Compared to the single‐polarized analogue MQP ( τ p = 672 µs), the dual‐polarized units in MQDP enhance SOC and reduce Δ E ST , thereby generating multiple singlet‐to‐triplet intersystem crossing (ISC) transfer channels to produce long‐lived triplet excitons ( τ p = 868 µs). In addition, the dual‐polarized MQDP enriches surface−active sites for O 2 adsorption, effectively reducing the energy barrier for ORR. The MQDP achieves a remarkable H 2 O 2 generation rate of 15.38 mmol g −1 h −1 under visible light irradiation and ambient air, nearly 1.9 times higher than that of MQP (8.13 mmol g −1 h −1 ). These findings demonstrate the effectiveness of the dual‐polarized design in tuning exciton dynamics and surface reactivity of D–A polymers for enhanced photocatalysis.

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Publication Details

Journal
Angewandte Chemie
Published
2026-02-15
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/ange.202521132
Primary Topic
Advanced Photocatalysis Techniques
Type
article
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article

Dual‐Polarized Donor–Acceptor Polymer Unlocks Long‐Lived Triplet Excitons for High‐Efficiency H 2 O 2 Photosynthesis

L Wang, Qiao Shen, Yupeng Yuan, Tong Tian et al.
Angewandte Chemie
Advanced Photocatalysis Techniques
article

Dual‐Polarized Donor–Acceptor Polymer Unlocks Long‐Lived Triplet Excitons for High‐Efficiency H 2 O 2 Photosynthesis

L Wang, Qiao Shen, Yupeng Yuan, Tong Tian, Fuhu Yin, Daochuan Jiang, Yue Wang, Zihuang Yuan, Chuhong Zhu, Yingqiang Sun
article en

Abstract

ABSTRACT Long‐lived triplet excitons in polymers are crucial for driving oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in photocatalytic H 2 O 2 production, but their formation is typically limited by weak spin‐orbit coupling (SOC) and a large singlet–triplet splitting energy (Δ E ST ). Here we present a “dual‐polarized” strategy in a novel donor–acceptor (D–A) polymer (MQDP) containing S═N─C and C═N─C linkages. MQDP polymer was prepared via supramolecular precursor polymerization of acenaphthenequinone (AQ), dibenzothiophene‐5‐oxide (DPO), and melem (ME). Compared to the single‐polarized analogue MQP ( τ p = 672 µs), the dual‐polarized units in MQDP enhance SOC and reduce Δ E ST , thereby generating multiple singlet‐to‐triplet intersystem crossing (ISC) transfer channels to produce long‐lived triplet excitons ( τ p = 868 µs). In addition, the dual‐polarized MQDP enriches surface−active sites for O 2 adsorption, effectively reducing the energy barrier for ORR. The MQDP achieves a remarkable H 2 O 2 generation rate of 15.38 mmol g −1 h −1 under visible light irradiation and ambient air, nearly 1.9 times higher than that of MQP (8.13 mmol g −1 h −1 ). These findings demonstrate the effectiveness of the dual‐polarized design in tuning exciton dynamics and surface reactivity of D–A polymers for enhanced photocatalysis.

Angewandte ChemieVol. 138(13)
Anhui University (CN)
Affordable and clean energy
Openalex Percentile: Top 57%
Advanced Photocatalysis Techniques
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