Triethanolamine-activated imine-linked covalent organic frameworks for highly efficient NADH generation

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Photocatalysis
• Organic Chemistry

Background:

• Conjugated covalent organic frameworks (COFs) with imine linkages show promise in photocatalysis.
• However, their efficiency is limited by low intramolecular electron transfer rates.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a new strategy for reversible activation of imine-linked COFs.
• To enhance photocatalytic performance for energy conversion applications.

Main Methods:

• Reversible activation of imine-linked COFs using triethanolamine (TEOA) under light irradiation.
• Characterization of activated COFs using experimental and theoretical analyses.
• Evaluation of photocatalytic performance in nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) generation.

Main Results:

• Activated COFs demonstrated expanded solar light absorption and elevated reduction potential.
• Reduced chemical impedance and suppressed charge recombination were observed.
• Significantly enhanced photocatalytic performance in NADH generation without metal cocatalysts.

Conclusions:

• The enhanced performance is attributed to the protonation of imine bonds by TEOA, facilitated by light irradiation.
• This activation strategy overcomes the traditional requirement of acidic conditions for imine bond protonation.
• The findings offer new perspectives for designing efficient, metal-free photocatalysts for energy conversion.