Near‐IR Light‐Driven Photocatalytic H 2 O 2 Production by Viologen‐Based Conjugated Microporous Polymer
ABSTRACT Near‐infrared (NIR) light‐driven photocatalytic H 2 O 2 generation represents a promising yet underexplored strategy for sustainable solar energy utilisation, offering key advantages such as low energy consumption, suppression of unwanted side reactions, and a superior penetration depth into the material. Herein, we report a vinylene‐linked diquat‐conjugated microporous polymer ( Bpy‐2D ), synthesised via acid‐catalysed Knoevenagel condensation of Bpy and TFB . The synergistic combination of the electron‐deficient viologen moiety and the vinylene linkage affords a narrow optical band gap of 1.16 eV and broad NIR absorption extending to ∼1400 nm. Interestingly, the polymer exhibited an exceptionally high electrical conductivity of 1.8 × 10 − 2 S m − 1 in the pristine state. Under NIR light irradiation using a red LED strip (wavelength range of 620–660 nm), an IR lamp (650 and 850 nm), and a 12‐IR LED board (850 nm), Bpy‐2D achieved a high H 2 O 2 production rate of 3.31, 4.01 and 0.48 mmol g − 1 h − 1 , respectively, with an overall production rate of 5.73 mmol g − 1 h − 1 under xenon light irradiation. The polymer retained approximately 87% of its initial activity over four consecutive cycles, establishing viologen‐based vinylene‐linked CMP as a promising class of metal‐free NIR‐active photocatalyst for sustainable H 2 O 2 production.
Authors
- M. Rajeswara Rao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2730-7275)
- Vinutha K. Venkatareddy
- Abhijeet V. Kamble
Institutions
- Indian Institute of Technology Dharwad (IN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Small
- Published
- 2026-08-20
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/smll.75342
- Primary Topic
- Covalent Organic Framework Applications
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Science and Engineering Research Board