A partially fluorinated, metal-free, imine-linked two-dimensional triazine covalent organic framework (TF50 -COF) photocatalyst was developed. Fluorine (F)-substituted and nonsubstituted units were integrated in equimolar amounts on the edge aromatic units, where they mediated two-electron O2 photoreduction. F-substitution created an abundance of Lewis acid sites, which regulated the electronic distribution of adjacent carbon atoms and provided highly active sites for O2 adsorption, and widened the visible-light-responsive range of the catalyst, while enhancing charge separation. Varying the proportion of F maximized the interlayer interactions of TF50 -COF, resulting in improved crystallinity with faster carrier transfer and robust photostability. The TF50 -COF catalyst demonstrates high selectivity and stability in O2 photoreduction into H2 O2 , with a high H2 O2 yield rate of 1739 μmol h-1 g-1 and a remarkable apparent quantum efficiency of 5.1 % at 400 nm, exceeding the performance of previously reported nonmetal COF-based photocatalysts.
Keywords: Fluorination; Hydrogen Peroxide; Oxygen Reduction; Photocatalysis; Triazine Covalent Organic Frameworks.
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