Solar-to-chemical energy conversion for the generation of high-energy chemicals is one of the most viable solutions to the quest for sustainable energy resources. Although long dominated by inorganic semiconductors, organic polymeric photocatalysts offer the advantage of a broad, molecular-level design space of their optoelectronic and surface catalytic properties, owing to their molecularly precise backbone. In this Review, we discuss the fundamental concepts of polymeric photocatalysis and examine different polymeric photocatalysts, including carbon nitrides, conjugated polymers, covalent triazine frameworks and covalent organic frameworks. We analyse the photophysical and physico-chemical concepts that govern the photocatalytic performance of these materials, and derive design principles and possible future research directions in this emerging field of ‘soft photocatalysis’.

用于生成高能化学物质的太阳能转化为化学能是寻求可持续能源的最可行解决方案之一。尽管有机聚合物光催化剂长期以来一直被无机半导体所控制，但由于其分子精确的骨架，它们在光电子和表面催化性能方面具有广阔的分子水平设计空间的优势。在这篇综述中，我们讨论了聚合物光催化的基本概念，并研究了不同的聚合物光催化剂，包括碳氮化物，共轭聚合物，共价三嗪骨架和共价有机骨架。我们分析了控制这些材料光催化性能的光物理和物理化学概念，