Hydrophilic Conjugated Materials for Photocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution

Photocatalytic hydrogen evolution is viewed as a promising green strategy to utilize the inexhaustible solar energy and provide clean hydrogen fuels with zero-emission characteristic. The nature of semiconductor-based photocatalysts is the key point to achieve efficient photocatalytic hydrogen evolution. Conjugated materials have been recently emerging as a novel class of photocatalysts for hydrogen evolution and photocatalytic reactions due to their electronic properties can be well controlled via tailor-made chemical structures. Hydrophilic conjugated materials, a subgroup of conjugated materials, possess multiple advantages for photocatalytic applications, thus spurring remarkable progress on both material realm and photocatalytic applications. This minireview aims to provide a brief review of the recent developments of hydrophilic conjugated polymers/small molecules for photocatalytic applications, and special concern on the rational molecular design and their impact on photocatalytic performance will be reviewed. Perspectives on the hydrophilic conjugated materials and challenges to their applications in the photocatalytic field are also presented.