Noble metal-free porphyrin covalent organic framework layer for CO2 photoreduction to CO

Abstract

The presence of greenhouse CO₂ gas in the atmosphere causes serious environmental issues. Consequently, the development of photocatalysts for reducing CO₂ is essential for mimicking artificial photosynthesis. In this study, we prepared a 5,15-di(4-aminophenty)-10,20-diphentyporphyrin copper (CuDAPP)–1,3,5-triformylphloroglucinol (TP)–covalent organic framework (COF) layer on a glass sheet via a layer-by-layer (LBL) method. The 2D CuDAPP–TP–COF layer was used as a photocatalyst for CO₂ reduction, and it demonstrated excellent photocatalytic activity under gas–solid conditions without sacrificial reagents, noble metals, or photosensitisers. The CO production yield was 282.6 μmol g⁻¹ under visible-light irradiation for 6 h, outperforming the raw material CuDAPP and a mixture of CuDAPP and TP, indicating a high application potential of the 2D porphyrin COF layer material in photocatalytic CO₂ reduction.