Hydrophilic porous organic polymers with fluorene-viologen units for enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen production

The rising energy demand and environmental concerns have intensified the search for clean energy solutions. Photocatalytic water splitting offers a promising route, yet efficiency remains limited by the need for advanced photocatalysts with enhanced light absorption, charge separation, and water interaction. Porous organic polymers (POPs) are emerging as efficient materials for solar energy conversion due to their ordered conjugated structures. This study explores the impact of a ketone moiety on the hydrophilicity and photocatalytic hydrogen evolution efficiency of fluorene-bridged bicarbazole-viologen-based POPs (POP-MB-TP(DCzFO) and POP-MB-TP (DCzF)). Our results show that POP-MB-TP(DCzF) achieves a hydrogen evolution rate of 3.37 mmol g- 1 h- 1, nearly twice that of POP-MB-TP(DCzFO) (1.72 mmol g- 1 h- 1). This improvement highlights the role of hydrophilicity in charge transport and catalytic efficiency, providing insights for designing highly efficient organic photocatalysts for sustainable hydrogen production.