Nickel(ii) driven activity enhancement of a donor–acceptor porous organic polymer for selective photoreduction of carbon dioxide

Abstract

We report the design and synthesis of porous organic polymers (Py-DPEN) as a photocatalyst for the photoreduction of CO₂ to carbon monoxide (CO). Incorporation of Ni(II) drastically enhanced the photocatalytic activity under visible light irradiation (70 W m⁻², 470 nm), resulting in a significantly higher CO yield (38 µmol) with excellent selectivity. This pronounced improvement demonstrates the crucial role of Ni(II) in driving CO₂ conversion using TEOA as a sacrificial electron donor in an acetonitrile–water medium. Comprehensive characterization, photocatalytic performance evaluation, and product selectivity studies confirm the outstanding efficiency of the system and provide valuable insights for the rational design of sustainable energy conversion catalysts.