By rationally tailoring the “trade-off” carbon and nitrogen vacancy contents, an almost defect-free high crystalline PTI was achieved and produced considerable OWS activity and a record efficiency of 37.8%.

Abstract

Crystal defects widely exist in semiconductor photocatalysts, and it hinders the quantum efficiency in photocatalytic reactions. The precise manipulation and elimination of these detrimental defects are particularly crucial for improving the photocatalytic overall water splitting (OWS) reaction, though this remains a considerable challenge. In a recent study, Wang and colleagues introduced an innovative “in-situ salt flux” copolymerization technique to synthesize poly(triazine imide) (PTI) with high crystallinity and minimal defects. This approach resulted in a record apparent quantum efficiency (AQE) of 37.8% at 380 nm. This strategy effectively balances the impact of two types of vacancies (carbon and nitrogen) on OWS performance and establishes clear structure-property-activity relationships for the photocatalytic OWS process.