Photocatalytic Selective Bromination of Electron-Rich Aromatic Compounds Using Microporous Organic Polymers with Visible Light

Abstract

Pure organic, heterogeneous, metal-free, and visible light-active photocatalysts offer a more sustainable and environmentally friendly alternative to traditional metal-based catalysts. Here we report a series of microporous organic polymers containing photoactive conjugated organic semiconductor units as heterogeneous photocatalysts for a visible-light-promoted, highly selective bromination reaction of electron-rich aromatic compounds using HBr as a bromine source and molecular oxygen as a clean oxidant. Via a simple Friedel–Crafts alkylation reaction, the microporous organic polymers were obtained by cross-linking of organic semiconductor compounds with defined valence and conduction band positions. The utilization of the simply prepared porous polymer-based photocatalytic systems opens new opportunities toward a sustainable and efficient material design for catalysis.