Light-induced borazine/triazine-containing conjugated polymers spatial twist boosting high-performance photo-assisted Li-CO2 batteries

Photoelectrode materials are essential in facilitating the kinetics of CO ₂ redox reaction in photo-assisted Li-CO ₂ batteries. However, conventional rigid photoelectrodes suffer from limited in-plane charge carrier separation and transport, leading to poor photoelectric conversion and storage efficiency. Herein, we report a borazine/triazine-containing conjugated polymer (BTCP) with flexible conformational isomerism. Under light exposure, cooperative rotation of the bonds involving B-N, C-B, and C-N induce molecular twisting that redistributes electron cloud and enhances polarized electric field, thereby promoting efficient charge separation and migration, while also enhancing CO ₂ adsorption and lowering the Li ₂ CO ₃ compositional energy barrier. Consequently, the BTCP photoelectrode delivers an ultra-low voltage gap of 0.1 V at 100 µA cm ^− 2 , a round-trip efficiency of 96% and outstanding cycling stability for 27 days. This work highlights a novel strategy of exploiting light-induced molecular torsion to boost photocatalytic activity, offering new insights into the design of high-performance photoelectrodes for light-driven energy storage systems.