The crystalline linear polyimide with oriented photogenerated electron delivery powering CO2 reduction

Orienting electron transport to suppress charge recombination is attractive for efficient photocatalysis but remains challenging. Herein, we demonstrate the synthesis of crystalline linear conjugated polyimides via the condensation of carboxylic anhydrides and amine monomers for the photocatalytic reduction of CO2. Oriented electron transport was achieved using crystalline polyimides integrated with electronic push-pull units. Directional intramolecular electron transfer is driven by the dipole effects of the adjacent building units. The sulfone-based polyimide exhibited excellent photocatalytic performance for CO2 reduction. Our work provides a new example photoreduction of CO2 and a strategy for developing efficient photocatalysts with oriented electron transport.