Integration of the Triboelectric Effect into a Yolk-Shell Conjugated Microporous Polymer for Enhanced Artificial...

Conjugated microporous polymers (CMPs) have demonstrated considerable potential in the field of photocatalytic organic synthesis. However, the issue of intrinsic photogenerated carrier recombination severely limits their potential applications. Herein, a strategy for boosting the photocatalytic performance of CMP through the triboelectric effect is proposed. Specifically, the benzothiadiazole-involved CMP (BTTP) with inherent triboelectric character is processed into yolk-shell SiO2@BTTP materials, in which the BTTP and SiO2 function as tribo-negative and tribo-positive materials, respectively. The dual triboelectric effects occurring on both the internal and external surfaces of the shell are capable of inducing the formation of an additional built-in electric field within the BTTP photocatalyst, which effectively promotes the separation of photo-generated carriers, significantly enhancing photocatalytic performance. In the photocatalytic aerobic oxidation of the representative methyl phenyl sulfide, the yolk-shell SiO2@BTTP exhibits an ultrahigh sulfoxide yield of ∼399.6 mmol·g-1·h-1 under optimized conditions, accompanied by exceptional selectivity and cycling stability. Furthermore, this enhancement arising from the triboelectric effect is also observed in the selective photocatalytic oxidation of other organics by BTTP, including sulfide derivatives, benzyl alcohol and benzylamine. The findings of this work on utilizing intrinsic friction characteristics to boost the photocatalytic performance of CMP provide alternative avenues for the development of high-performance CMP-based photocatalysts, which will greatly unlock the application potential of such semiconductors in the field of artificial photosynthesis.