Artificial photosynthesis is a chemical process that aims to capture energy from sunlight to produce solar fuels. Light absorption by a robust and efficient photosensitizer is one of the key steps in solar energy conversion. However, common photosensitizers, including [Ru(bpy)₃]²⁺ (RuP), remain far from the ideal. In this work, we exploited the performance of conjugated polymers (CPs) as photosensitizers in photodriven hydrogen evolution in aqueous solution (pH 6). Interestingly, CPs, such as poly(fluorene-co-phenylene) derivative (429 mmol_H2·g_CP^–1·h^–1), exhibit steady and high reactivity toward hydrogen evolution; this performance can rival that of a phosphonated RuP under the same conditions, indicating that CPs are promising metal-free photosensitizers for future applications in photocatalysis.

中文翻译：

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共轭聚合物作为光敏剂的光催化制氢

人工光合作用是一种化学过程，旨在从阳光中捕获能量以产生太阳能。强大而有效的光敏剂吸收光是太阳能转换的关键步骤之一。但是，包括[Ru（bpy）₃ ] ²⁺（RuP）在内的常见光敏剂仍远未达到理想状态。在这项工作中，我们利用了共轭聚合物（CPs）作为光敏剂在水溶液（pH 6）中光致氢析出中的性能。有趣的是，CPs，例如聚（芴-共-亚苯基）衍生物（429 mmol _{H 2} ·g _CP ^–1 ·h ^–1），对放氢表现出稳定而高的反应活性；在相同条件下，该性能可与膦酸酯化的RuP媲美，这表明CP有望在未来的光催化应用中使用无金属的光敏剂。