Enhancement of covalent triazine frameworks containing S heteroatom for photocatalytic hydrogen evolution: the role of composite PEG

Abstract

Covalent triazine frameworks (CTFs) containing S heteroatom are promising materials for applications in photocatalysis due to their donor–acceptor-type structures, which can improve the mobility of carriers in polymers. Herein, a series of composites (TTBT-COF@PEG_x, x = 10, 20, and 30) were prepared based on CTF containing S heteroatom and polyethylene glycol (PEG) by a two-step reaction. The results show that the photocatalytic hydrogen evolution rate of TTBT-COF@PEG₃₀ is 1.51 times that of pristine TTBT-COF. This significant improvement was attributed to PEG in the pores, which resulted in a stable layered structure, reuced distortion and deformation of the skeleton, and rapid separation and transportation of photogenerated electron holes.