Triazine-based conjugated polymers with regulation of D-A configuration for enhanced photocatalytic activity

Photocatalysis is a green and environmentally friendly method for degrading dangerous and nonbiodegradable pollutants. In this study, a sequence of metal-free triazine-based electronic donor-acceptor (D-A) conjugated polymers Tr-X (X = Th, BT, BTh) were prepared by D-A configuration regulation between triazine (Tr) and monomers containing N and S, such as thiophene (Th), bithiophene (BTh) and benzothiadiazole (BT) units, for the photocatalytic degradation of bisphenol A (BPA) and benzene contaminants in water under visible light. Among these, Tr-BTh exhibited complete photocatalytic degradation owing to its excellent D-A configuration. Moreover, the N and S atoms, which are rich in triazine and thiophene units, serve as highly dispersed reactive sites. The separation and transfer of photogenerated carriers can be further improved by expanding the light-absorption range of polymers. In addition, the polymers showed good adsorption for BPA and other aromatic organic pollutants through π-π interaction and surface hydrogen bonding, which provides a facile strategy for efficient polymer-based photocatalysts for water purification.