Nickel(II) driven activity enhancement of 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 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/m2, 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, product selectivity studies confirm the outstanding efficiency of the system and provides valuable insights for the rational design of sustainable energy conversion catalysts.