Photoelectrocatalytic CO Reduction to Methanol by Molecular Self-Assemblies Confined in Covalent Polymer Networks.

Inspired by the porous structures of photosynthetic organelles, we report here a new type of photoelectrode based on a standalone macroporous conjugated polymer network (MCN) that converts sunlight into high-energy electrons for CO reduction to CHOH. The MCN provides supramolecular cavities with sufficient functional groups that control the structures of photocatalytic assemblies, which circumvents the geometric limitations of traditional inorganic counterparts. Stabilized interfacial contact between MCN and photocatalysts is achieved by strong chemical linkages throughout the network. Solar irradiation of MCN with a cobalt-based catalyst generates highly reducing electrons for the reduction of CO to CHOH at a conversion efficiency of 70%. Production of CHOH sustains for at least 100 h, with a small decrease in yield rates. Scaling up the photoelectrode from 1 to 100 cm results in photocurrent generation stabilized at 0.25 A and continuous CHOH production at a conversion efficiency of 85%, demonstrating the scalability and high performances.