Porous Organic Polymers for Photocatalytic Carbon Dioxide Reduction

Many porous organic polymers (POPs) possess excellent light absorption capacity and CO2 absorption performance owing to their conjugated skeletons and large specific surface area values. Some of these fascinating materials have inherent reaction sites for CO2 conversion and appropriate band structures to catalyze the CO2 reduction reaction. Therefore, these POPs have been used as heterogeneous catalysts in the photocatalytic CO2 reduction reaction. Among those POPs, four kinds of catalytic systems have been developed for realizing the CO2 photoreduction reaction: POPs loaded with noble metals, POPs loaded with non-noble metals, POPs combined with inorganic semiconductors, and metal-free POPs. Each of these catalytic systems has its own advantages and drawbacks. In general, the catalytic system of supported metals has higher catalytic efficiency but lower durability than metal-free POPs. It should be noted that in the process of catalyst development, the co-catalyst is gradually minimizing in POPs to achieve a more green CO2 photoreduction reaction. In this review, different types of POPs and the relationship between their structures and catalytic performance in the photocatalytic reduction of CO2 are summarized.

Automated summary

Many porous organic polymers (POPs) with conjugated skeletons and large specific surface areas have been used as heterogeneous catalysts in the photocatalytic CO2 reduction reaction. Different catalytic systems have been developed, each with its own advantages and drawbacks, such as higher efficiency but lower durability in metal-loaded systems. The reduction of co-catalysts in POPs aims to achieve a more environmentally friendly CO2 photoreduction reaction.