Visible-Light Driven H(2)O-to-H(2)O(2) Reaction by Nitrogen-Enriched Resins for Photocatalytic Oxidation of an Organic Pollutant in Wastewater

[Image: see text] A photocatalytic H(2)O-to-H(2)O(2) reaction for sustainable organic wastewater treatment is environmentally attractive. Phenolic resins, inexpensive metal-free photocatalysts, are capable of harvesting visible light. Herein, novel nitrogen-enriched resin photocatalysts with a desired band-gap energy (1.83–1.98 eV) for harvesting visible light were prepared by copolymerization of resorcinol and melem for simultaneous photocatalytic H(2)O-to-H(2)O(2) and oxidation of methylene blue. Under visible light irradiation for 5 h, very high yields of H(2)O(2) (870–975 μM of H(2)O(2)/g/h) by RFM resin photocatalysts could be achieved. The photocatalytic H(2)O(2) for reactive oxygen species ((•)OH) and photogenerated h(+) could account for high conversion (40% conversion under visible light irradiation within 3 h) in oxidation of methylene blue. Such unique low-cost metal-free resins demonstrate the visible light photocatalytic H(2)O-to-H(2)O(2) reaction which can synergize with the oxidation of organic pollutants in wastewater.