Recent advances in organic conjugated materials for photocatalytic hydrogen evolution: design strategies and photocatalytic performance

Converting abundant solar energy into valuable and clean hydrogen fuel through photocatalytic water splitting represents a highly promising strategy to address the global energy and environmental crises. In recent years, significant research attention has been directed toward solar-driven photocatalytic hydrogen evolution, where the catalyst serves as the central component. Numerous studies over the past few years have demonstrated that organic conjugated materials not only exhibit a broad solar-light absorption range but also facilitate efficient charge transfer processes, positioning them as effective photoactive materials for photocatalytic hydrogen production. This review summarizes recent advances in the application of organic conjugated materials, including conjugated small molecules, conjugated polymers, and metal–organic frameworks, for solar-driven hydrogen conversion. Furthermore, perspectives and future directions for the development of organic conjugated materials in the field of photocatalytic water splitting are discussed.