Ambient Preparation of Benzoxazine-based Phenolic Resins Enables Long-term Sustainable Photosynthesis of Hydrogen Peroxide

Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2023 Jun 5;62(23):e202302829. doi: 10.1002/anie.202302829. Epub 2023 Apr 20.

Abstract

Rational design of polymer structures at the molecular level promotes the iteration of high-performance photocatalyst for sustainable photocatalytic hydrogen peroxide (H2 O2 ) production from oxygen and water, which also lays the basis for revealing the reaction mechanism. Here we report a benzoxazine-based m-aminophenol-formaldehyde resin (APFac) polymerized at ambient conditions, exhibiting superior H2 O2 yield and long-term stability to most polymeric photocatalysts. Benzoxazine structure was identified as the crucial photocatalytic active segment in APFac. Favorable adsorption of oxygen/intermediates on benzoxazine structure and commendable product selectivity accelerated the reaction kinetically in stepwise single-electron oxygen reduction reaction. The proposed benzoxazine-based phenolic resin provides the possibility of production in batches and industrial application, and sheds light on the de novo design and analysis of metal-free polymeric photocatalysts.

Keywords: Benzoxazine Structure; H2O2 Photosynthesis; Heterogeneous Photocatalysis; Oxygen Intermediate Adsorption; Phenolic Resin.