Prof.  Francis  Verpoort
Wuhan University of Technology,  China

Title: Conjugated Porous Organic Polymer-Pd Nano-composite as Photocatalyst for fine chemicals

Abstract:

Conjugated porous organic polymers (CPOPs) represent an emerging class of stable, permanently nanoporous organic networks, increasingly utilized as versatile heterogeneous catalysts and catalytic supports. Due to their extended π-conjugation and favorable HOMO-LUMO energy alignment, semiconducting POPs have gained significant interest in areas such as organic photovoltaics, optoelectronics, and photo-induced organic transformations. Since visible light comprises nearly 44% of the solar spectrum, incorporating visible-light-active moieties into POPs is a common strategy to maximize sunlight absorption. Such incorporation would be expected to enhance the photo-absorption cross-section due to extended conjugation in the polymer backbone, which, in turn, should reduce the HOMO-LUMO energy gap. Azobenzenes, with absorption maxima in the UV region, are renowned for their photoactivity. Inspired by this, we incorporated an azobenzene moiety into our POP framework (Azo-POP) to harvest visible light energy.

Herein, we report the successful synthesis of a novel semiconducting colloidal Azo-POP using a surfactant-stabilized oil-in-water mini-emulsion technique, which yields a regularly spherical morphology. Metallic Pd nanoparticles (Pd NPs) were immobilized in the polymer (Pd-Azo POP) to create Mott-Schottky junctions, later utilized for highly efficient photocatalytic Suzuki and Suzuki-type coupling reactions involving various organohalides and boronic acids/esters under both visible and natural sunlight. Remarkably, this Pd-Azo POP system represents the first report of a photoactive conjugated POP-Pd system successfully catalyzing photo-induced Sonogashira coupling. Additionally, we demonstrated rapid, nearly quantitative, and selective visible-light-induced hydrogenation of olefins to their respective mono-reduced products, leveraging the cooperative action of Pd(0) nanoparticles and Pd(II) ions evenly distributed across a newly synthesized conjugated mesoporous poly-azobenzene network.

We critically investigate the role of the variable Pd(0)/Pd(II) ratio on the properties of these polymeric networks and their catalytic performance. This study presents the first example of cooperative hydrogenation through the simultaneous activation of H2 and unsaturated substrates via the Mott-Schottky heterojunction between Pd NPs and the semiconducting polymer, facilitated by Pd(II)-site-mediated coordination.

Keywords: Conjugated porous organic polymers; photocatalysis; C-C coupling; Hydrogenation

Biography:

Chair Professor, State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Material Synthesis and Processing, Wuhan University of Technology, China

Professor Joint Institute of Chemical Research (FFMiEN), Peoples Friendship University of Russia (RUDN University), Moscow, Russia

Chair of the International Expert Council, Palladium Global Science Award 

Prof. Francis Verpoort is a distinguished expert in organometallic chemistry and functional materials. He leads the Laboratory of Functional Hybrid Materials at Wuhan University of Technology and is the founder and CEO of SAIS Ltd, a company specializing in chemistry, materials, and engineering solutions.

In addition to his research, Prof. Verpoort plays an active role in scientific publishing. He serves as the Editor of Applied Organometallic Chemistry, Editor-in-Chief of Chemistry Africa and Nanocatalysis, and is a member of the editorial boards of several other prestigious journals.

His research focuses on organometallic chemistry, Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs), and Porous-Organic Polymers, with applications in catalysis, clean energy, and CO₂ capture. He has received numerous prestigious accolades, including the Dr. Basudev Banerjee Memorial Award and the “Chime” Award from Hubei Province, China. He also holds fellowships from the Royal Society of Chemistry, the Indian Chemical Society, and the International Engineering and Technology Institute.