Two-photon-absorbing ruthenium complexes enable near infrared light-driven photocatalysis

• Published in: Nature communications Vol. 13; no. 1; p. 2288
• Main Authors: Han, Guanqun, Li, Guodong, Huang, Jie, Han, Chuang, Turro, Claudia, Sun, Yujie
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 28-04-2022; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 119/118; 140/125; 140/131; 639/638/403/933; 639/638/439/890; Absorption; Catalysts; Chemical reactions; Energy; Humanities and Social Sciences; I.R. radiation; Infrared Rays; INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY; Irradiation; Light; Medical imaging; multidisciplinary; Near infrared radiation; Penetration depth; Photocatalysis; Photochemotherapy - methods; Photodynamic therapy; Photon absorption; Photons; Photosensitizing Agents - chemistry; Ruthenium; Ruthenium - chemistry; Ruthenium compounds; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Substrates; synthetic chemistry methodology; Transition metals
• ISSN: 2041-1723; 2041-1723
• DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-29981-3

One-photon-absorbing photosensitizers are commonly used in homogeneous photocatalysis which require the absorption of ultraviolet (UV) /visible light to populate the desired excited states with adequate energy and lifetime. Nevertheless, the limited penetration depth and competing absorption by organic substrates of UV/visible light calls upon exploring the utilization of longer-wavelength irradiation, such as near-infrared light (λ
irr
 > 700 nm). Despite being found applications in photodynamic therapy and bioimaging, two-photon absorption (TPA), the simultaneous absorption of two photons by one molecule, has been rarely explored in homogeneous photocatalysis. Herein, we report a group of ruthenium polypyridyl complexes possessing TPA capability that can drive a variety of organic transformations upon irradiation with 740 nm light. We demonstrate that these TPA ruthenium complexes can operate in an analogous manner as one-photon-absorbing photosensitizers for both energy-transfer and photoredox reactions, as well as function in concert with a transition metal co-catalyst for metallaphotoredox C–C coupling reactions.
The field of homogeneous metal- and photocatalysis typically uses one-photon-absorbing photosensitizers, which are highly functional, but require higher-energy light. Here the authors report a group of ruthenium polypyridyl complexes possessing two-photon-absorption capabilities, active with irradiation with lower-energy (740 nm) light.