# Micellization of Organic Conjugated Polymers toward Functional Nanomaterials for Photocatalytic Applications

## TL;DR

This paper reviews how micellization of organic conjugated polymers improves their performance in photocatalytic applications.

## Contribution

The paper provides a critical overview of the design and synthesis of conjugated polymeric nanomaterials (CPNs) and their photocatalytic applications.

## Key findings

- Micellization of CPNs enhances their dispersion stability in aqueous solutions.
- CPNs show improved electron transfer and reduced exciton recombination.
- CPNs are applied in pollutant degradation, chemical reactions, hydrogen evolution, CO2 fixation, and medical therapy.

## Abstract

Organic conjugated polymers (CPs)
with an extended π-conjugated
backbone exhibiting unique photophysical and chemical properties (e.g.,
good chemical stability, tunable light absorption, superior charge
mobility, etc.) have been developed as promising photosensitizers
for wide photocatalytic applications. Most of the reviews concerning
CPs for photocatalytic applications focus on the structural design
of CPs to achieve unique photophysical properties including broad
absorption spectrum, high molar absorption coefficient, and low photobleaching.
Construction of CPs into porous topological structures provides rich
active sites. Moreover, the crystallinity of CPs facilitates photoinduced
exciton transport across the polymeric backbone. However, the inherent
hydrophobic character of these CPs exhibits low solubility in aqueous
conditions, resulting in the existence of photoinduced exciton recombination,
which would limit their photocatalytic applications. Micellization
of CPs with hydrophilic functional groups via covalent/noncovalent
interactions to construct the conjugated polymeric nanomaterials (CPNs)
with improved surface wettability is an efficient approach to the
construction of high-performance photocatalysts, resulting in their
high dispersion stability in an aqueous solution and enhanced electron
transfer from the photocatalyst to the reactant by decreasing their
interfacial free energy. In this perspective, we provide a critical
overview of the recent progress on the design and synthesis of the
CPNs, focusing particularly on the relationship between the morphology
and size of CPNs and their optoelectronic properties. Moreover, their
photocatalytic applications including organic pollutant degradation,
photoinduced chemical reactions, hydrogen evolution, CO2 fixation, and medical therapy are discussed systematically. The
current challenges and perspectives of CPNs for photocatalytic applications
are also highlighted.