Fine Tuning the Redox Potentials of Carbazolic Porous Organic Frameworks for Visible-Light Photoredox Catalytic Degradation of Lignin β-O-4 Models

We report a facile approach to fine tune the redox potentials of π-conjugated porous organic frameworks (POFs) by copolymerizing carbazolic electron donor (D) and electron acceptor (A) based comonomers at different ratios. The resulting carbazolic copolymers (CzCPs) exhibit a wide range of redox potentials that are comparable to common transition-metal complexes and are used in the stepwise photocatalytic degradation of lignin β-O-4 models. With the strongest oxidative capability, CzCP100 (D:A = 0:100) exhibits the highest efficiency for the oxidation of benzylic β-O-4 alcohols, while the highly reductive CzCP33 (D:A = 66:33) gives the highest yield for the reductive cleavage of β-O-4 ketones. CzCPs also exhibit excellent stability and recyclability and represent a class of promising heterogeneous photocatalysts for the production of fine chemicals from sustainable lignocellulosic biomass.