Transition metal

Physics

Electron transfer

Engineering

Perovskite (structure)

Photon

Chemical physics

Catalysis

Nanotechnology

Halide

Nanocrystal

Chemical reaction

Organic chemistry

Inorganic chemistry

Chemistry

Materials science

Chemical engineering

Metal

Quantum mechanics

Photocatalysis

Photochemistry

Crystallography

Journal of the American Chemical Society

Heterogeneous photocatalysis is less common but can provide unique avenues for inducing novel chemical transformations and can also be utilized for energy transductions, i.e., the energy in the photons can be captured in chemical bonds. Here, we developed a novel heterogeneous photocatalytic system that employs a lead-halide perovskite nanocrystal (NC) to capture photons and direct photogenerated holes to a surface bound transition metal Cu-site, resulting in a N-N heterocyclization reaction. The reaction starts from surface coordinated diamine substrates and requires two subsequent photo-oxidation events per reaction cycle. We establish a photocatalytic pathway that incorporates sequential inner sphere electron transfer events, photons absorbed by the NC generate holes that are sequentially funneled to the Cu-surface site to perform the reaction. The photocatalyst is readily prepared via a controlled cation-exchange reaction and provides new opportunities in photodriven heterogeneous catalysis.

A Nanocrystal Catalyst Incorporating a Surface Bound Transition Metal to Induce Photocatalytic Sequential Electron Transfer Events