Regulating Substituents in Coplanar 2D Ladder Polymers for Enhanced Photocatalytic Production of H2O2

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Photocatalytic hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) production using conjugated polymers as photocatalysts is a green and sustainable approach to synthesizing H 2 O 2 . Nevertheless, the efficiency is still hindered by the inefficient charge separation and transfer dynamics. Herein, a series of coplanar 2D ladder polymers with different substituents were reported as metal-free photocatalysts for artificial photosynthesis of H 2 O 2 . Detailed experimental and theoretical investigations reveal that the coplanar 2D skeleton and strong electron-withdrawing substituents could profoundly facilitate charge separation and transfer. Possessing these notable merits, the cyano-substituted polymer (PAE-CN) exhibits remarkable photocatalytic performance on H 2 O 2 evolution. This study contributes to the development of effective polymer photocatalysts tailored for potential applications in artificial photosynthesis.