Molecular Level Modulation of Anthraquinone-containing Resorcinol-formaldehyde Resin Photocatalysts for H O Production with Exceeding 1.2 % Efficiency.

Designing polymeric photocatalysts at the molecular level to modulate the photogenerated charge behavior is a promising and challenging strategy for efficient hydrogen peroxide (H O ) photosynthesis. Here, we introduce electron-deficient 1,4-dihydroxyanthraquinone (DHAQ) into the framework of resorcinol-formaldehyde (RF) resin, which modulates the donor/acceptor ratio from the perspective of molecular design for promoting the charge separation. Interestingly, H O can be produced via oxygen reduction and water oxidation pathways, verified by isotopic labeling and in situ characterization techniques. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations elucidate that DHAQ can reduce the energy barrier for H O production. RF-DHAQ exhibits excellent overall photosynthesis of H O with a solar-to-chemical conversion (SCC) efficiency exceeding 1.2 %. This work opens a new avenue to design polymeric photocatalysts at the molecular level for high-efficiency artificial photosynthesis.