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Peer-reviewedCC BY 4.0Chemistry (Weinheim an Der Bergstrasse, Germany)

Photoinduced ROS Production by Poly(3‐hexylthiophene) (P3HT) is due to Autoxidation Rather Than Catalysis

  • Roman Gańczarczyk1,2
  • Renata Rybakiewicz‐Sekita3
  • Eric D. Głowacki2
  1. 1Faculty of Chemistry Warsaw University of Technology Noakowskiego 3 Warsaw Poland
  2. 2Bioelectronics Materials and Devices Laboratory, Central European Institute of Technology Brno University of Technology Purkyňova 123 Brno Czech Republic
  3. 3Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences. School of Exact Sciences Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski University Wóycickiego 1/3 Warsaw Poland
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Abstract

Poly(3‐hexylthiophene) (P3HT) is widely reported to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) under illumination and is often implicitly treated as a photocatalyst in aqueous and biological environments. Here, we demonstrate that ROS formation by P3HT proceeds at the expense of irreversible polymer photooxidation. Systematic irradiation studies of P3HT thin films and nanoparticles under controlled photon flux reveal a strong wavelength dependence of both hydrogen peroxide generation and polymer degradation, with higher photon energies accelerating both processes. Quantitative analysis shows that H2O2 formation is coupled to loss of conjugation and polymer consumption, and is not suppressed by sacrificial donors such as formate or glutathione. Comparative studies of different types of P3HTs indicate that increased interfacial accessibility as well as low regioregularity enhance degradation, and thus also ROS production. Together, these findings demonstrate that photoexcited P3HT acts as an efficient photosubstrate rather than a true photocatalyst, undergoing self‐sacrificial autoxidation during light‐driven oxygen reduction. This distinction is critical for interpreting ROS‐related phenomena in emerging biological applications.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{ganczarczyk2026photoinduced,
  title = {{Photoinduced ROS Production by Poly(3‐hexylthiophene) (P3HT) is due to Autoxidation Rather Than Catalysis}},
  author = {Roman Gańczarczyk and Renata Rybakiewicz‐Sekita and Eric D. Głowacki},
  journal = {Chemistry (Weinheim an Der Bergstrasse, Germany)},
  year = {2026},
  month = jul,
  doi = {10.1002/chem.71488},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1002/chem.71488},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Photoinduced ROS Production by Poly(3‐hexylthiophene) (P3HT) is due to Autoxidation Rather Than Catalysis
AU  - Roman Gańczarczyk
AU  - Renata Rybakiewicz‐Sekita
AU  - Eric D. Głowacki
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/07/28
JO  - Chemistry (Weinheim an Der Bergstrasse, Germany)
DO  - 10.1002/chem.71488
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1002/chem.71488
AB  - Poly(3‐hexylthiophene) (P3HT) is widely reported to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) under illumination and is often implicitly treated as a photocatalyst in aqueous and biological environments. Here, we demonstrate that ROS formation by P3HT proceeds at the expense of irreversible polymer photooxidation. Systematic irradiation studies of P3HT thin films and nanoparticles under controlled photon flux reveal a strong wavelength dependence of both hydrogen peroxide generation and polymer degradation, with higher photon energies accelerating both processes. Quantitative analysis shows that H2O2 formation is coupled to loss of conjugation and polymer consumption, and is not suppressed by sacrificial donors such as formate or glutathione. Comparative studies of different types of P3HTs indicate that increased interfacial accessibility as well as low regioregularity enhance degradation, and thus also ROS production. Together, these findings demonstrate that photoexcited P3HT acts as an efficient photosubstrate rather than a true photocatalyst, undergoing self‐sacrificial autoxidation during light‐driven oxygen reduction. This distinction is critical for interpreting ROS‐related phenomena in emerging biological applications.
SN  - 0947-6539
SN  - 1521-3765
ER  -