Covalent organic framework without cocatalyst loading for efficient photocatalytic sacrificial hydrogen production from water

Metals are typically essential as either integral components within photocatalysts or as cocatalyst modifiers to enable efficient artificial photosynthesis, such as water splitting and carbon dioxide reduction. However, developing photocatalysts that function effectively without metal cocatalysts remains challenging due to their cost and scarcity. Here we show a nonstoichiometric β-ketoenamine-linked covalent organic framework that operates without cocatalysts, achieving hydrogen production rates of 15.48 mmol·g⁻¹·h⁻¹ from seawater and 22.45 mmol·g⁻¹·h⁻¹ from water with an ascorbic acid scavenger under visible light. It outperforms many reported platinum-modified covalent organic frameworks and…