Manipulating excited state reactivity and selectivity through hydrogen bonding – from solid state reactivity to Brønsted acid photocatalysis

Abstract

Hydrogen bonding mediated control of photochemical reaction is highlighted with an eye towards the development of BrØnsted Acid mediated photocatalysis.

Using Restricted Bond Rotations to Enforce Excited-State Behavior of Organic Molecules

“…Emerging synthetic methods to access atropisomers foretell a bright future for this strategy, which could be exploited not only for asymmetric photochemical transformations but also to uncover new photochemical pathways and to develop new photocatalytic methods to build molecules with complex chemical features. 80 82…”

Narrow Bandgap Inorganic Ferroelectric Thin Film Materials

“…In general, the photocatalytic oxidation reaction utilizes a semiconductor as the catalyst and light as the energy to decompose organic matter into carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and water (H 2 O). [181][182][183][184] Semiconductor photocatalysis has shown great potential as an ideal technology for environmental remediation and renewable energy generation, but its efficiency is severely limited by the rapid recombination of charge carriers on the surface of bulk phase and photocatalysts. The ferroelectric polarization induces charge separation to improves photocatalytic degradation rate, thus effectively facilitating photocatalysis.…”

Boosting Photocatalytic Activity over Graphitic Carbon Nitride by Hydrogen-Bonding-Assisted Charge Transfer

“…In terms of chemical dynamics, the presence of hydrogen bonds has long been considered to play a crucial role in many reaction-related processes. For instance, the mechanism by which flavoenzymes alter the redox properties of cofactors has been demonstrated to depend upon electrostatic interactions, π–π interactions, and hydrogen bonds in particular . In addition, one of the recent advances made by chemists involves the use of hydrogen-bonding templates for controlling enantio-selective photochemical transformations in isotropic media. − Nevertheless, the mechanism of hydrogen bonding has rarely been applied in the field of photocatalysis, despite the fact that the presence of a large number of overlapping electron orbitals associated with a high degree of hydrogen bonding among the atoms would facilitate significant charge transfer and contribute toward increasing the activity and selectivity of photocatalysts.…”