Highly-crystalline Triazine-PDI Polymer with an Enhanced Built-in Electric Field for Full-Spectrum Photocatalytic Phenol Mineralization

Abstract Herein, a conjugated triazine-perylene diimide (triazine-PDI) polymer photocatalyst is prepared, and its full-spectrum photo-oxidative activity is evaluated. Enhanced dipole promotes the generation and separation of photo-induced charges, while its high degree of crystallinity results in a strong built-in electric field, which provides channels for the rapid transfer of the photo-generated charges. The advantageous structural characteristics enable a phenol degradation rate constant of 0.191 h−1, which is which is 12.7 and 2.2 times greater than bulk g-C3N4 and supramolecular PDI, respectively. Besides, triazine-PDI’s deep VB position led to a high rate of mineralization, i.e., a 79% total organic carbon removal rate in 24 h, which is 38% higher than that of self-assembled PDI. In summary, this work demonstrates the critical influence of crystallinity and built-in electric field adjustments for PDI photocatalytic activity.