Conjugated polymers have recently drawn much attention owing to their efficiency for heterogeneous photocatalytic reactions under visible light, a ‘green’ energy source. The polymer photocatalyst can be easily tuned for target applications, in which the electronic and chemical properties of photocatalyst can be adjusted by doping method, molecular engineering, surface functionalization etc. Apart from the material design viewpoint, a more technical concept of sustainable reaction is to utilize ‘green’ solvents instead of using organic solvents. The use of organic solvents produces an immense amount of liquid waste, however, water is particularly considered as a cheap and clean solvent for organic reactions. Furthermore, water compatibility of photocatalyst facilitates energy-, environmental- and biological applications such as water splitting, anti-bacterial treatment, water treatment etc. Water-soluble hydrophilic polymer photocatalysts have been constructed through surfactant-assisted miniemulsion, functionalization, protonation via acid treatment etc. Nevertheless, such synthetic protocols brought a permanent wettability change of photocatalysts, which may cause difficulty in regenerating the catalyst after the reaction. In this study, we aim to control hydrophilicity/hydrophobicity of polymer photocatalysts by a simple gas/temperature swing. Tertiary amine-tethered polymer photocatalyst exhibits a reversible wettability change in different gas atmospheres, which enhances catalytic efficiency as well as recyclability after the reaction. The polymer photocatalysts having switchable hydrophilic nature were showcased for photocatalytic reactions in aqueous medium under visible light irradiation, i.e. photo-degradation of organic dyes and organic transformation reactions.

Switchable hydrophilicity of heterogeneous polymer photocatalyst for the enhanced catalytic activity in water

256th National Meeting (2018)

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