Visible-light-induced Photocatalytic Degradation of Organic Contaminants by Silver(I)-loaded N-rich Porous Organic Polymers

Heterogeneous photocatalysts with high activity and reactive free radicals can be used to effectively remove water pollutants in harsh environments, which have attracted considerable attention in the environment chemistry. Here, we designed two conjugated organic porous polymers POPs 1-2 with high redox activity and potential π-electron delocalization. Upon combination with silver(I) nitride salt in solution, two metal-anchoring polymeric catalysts POPs 3-4 were successfully constructed, which possessed a strong electron donating ability as well as a high coplanarity and photoelectron properties. Through the loading of AgNO3, the carrier separation ability was effectively improved and the photocatalytic activity of POPs 3-4 was enhanced because of the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) effect of Ag localized at the polymer surface. The photocatalytic results demonstrated that POPs 3-4 could degrade RhB, MO and TC under visible light irradiation. The photodegradation efficiency reached 82.9% for RhB, 28.6% for Mo and 56.6% for TC with the presence of POP-3, and 76.3% for RhB, 51.1% for Mo and 37.7% for TC with the presence of POP-4, respectively. Furthermore, two porous polymer catalysts showed an excellent reusability in heterogenous conditions, the performance results show that the cycle degradation efficiency has been consistently maintained at over 90%. This demonstrates the robust and reliable performance of the material under repeated test conditions. A plausible photocatalytic mechanism triggered by ROS was proposed for the degradation of organic contaminant. This work on silver(I)-anchored porous organic polymers provided a possibility for development of the highly effective photocatalyst materials towards organic pollutants photodegradation under mild conditions.