Single-atom photocatalyst for click reaction
7 affiliations
- 1Laboratory of Solar Fuel, Faculty of Materials Science and Chemistry, China University of Geosciences, 68 Jincheng Street, Wuhan, 430078, P. R. China
- 2Hefei National Research Center for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, University of Science and Technology of China, 96 Jinzhai Road, Hefei, 230026, P. R. China
- 3Institute for Energy Research, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, 212013, P. R. China. [email protected]
- 4Hubei Key Laboratory of Low Dimensional Optoelectronic Material and Devices, Hubei University of Arts and Science, Xiangyang, 441053, P. R. China
- 5College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, 38 Tongyan Road, Tianjin, 300350, P. R. China. [email protected]
- 6Instituto Universitario de Tecnología Química, CSIC-UPV, Universitat Politècnica de València, Valencia, Spain. [email protected]
- 7Laboratory of Solar Fuel, Faculty of Materials Science and Chemistry, China University of Geosciences, 68 Jincheng Street, Wuhan, 430078, P. R. China. [email protected]
Abstract
Copper(I)-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition is the most prevalent click chemistry reaction, which is widely exploited for the synthesis of diverse organic molecules. Typically, the Cu(I) catalysts are generated in situ through the chemical reduction of Cu(II) ions. Unfortunately, such homogeneous systems are considered impractical for large-scale production, and the involvement of multiple equilibria among catalysts, reductants, and substrates complicates elucidation of the catalytic process. Inspired by photosynthesis, which involves transient redox cycle of magnesium porphyrin moiety in chlorophylls, a metal complex-based strategy is proposed for light-triggered click chemistry reactions, utilizing a single-atom Cu(II)-loaded covalent organic framework as a heterogeneous catalyst, wherein the organic ligand functions as a robust scaffold and photoinitiator. Upon light irradiation, photogenerated electrons within the ligand moiety undergo ligand-to-metal charge transfer, injecting into the 3 d orbital of Cu(II) and reducing it to Cu(I) as a short-lived transient species with submicrosecond lifetime, which acts as efficient active sites for the click chemistry reaction. This controllable and robust system shows promise in photochemical cycloaddition of benzylazide and phenylacetylene, a model click chemistry reaction, achieving 95% substrate conversion and >90% triazole yield. The findings are anticipated to be broadly applicable in areas such as sustainable photolithography and polymer chemistry.
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BibTeX
@article{cheng2026singleatom,
title = {{Single-atom photocatalyst for click reaction}},
author = {Chang Cheng and Bicheng Zhu and Yue Lin and Zhifeng Jiang and Guijie Liang and Chuanjia Jiang and Hermenegildo Garcı́a and Jiaguo Yu},
journal = {Nature Communications},
year = {2026},
month = jun,
doi = {10.1038/s41467-026-74278-4},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-74278-4},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Single-atom photocatalyst for click reaction
AU - Chang Cheng
AU - Bicheng Zhu
AU - Yue Lin
AU - Zhifeng Jiang
AU - Guijie Liang
AU - Chuanjia Jiang
AU - Hermenegildo Garcı́a
AU - Jiaguo Yu
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/06/10
JO - Nature Communications
DO - 10.1038/s41467-026-74278-4
UR - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-74278-4
AB - Copper(I)-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition is the most prevalent click chemistry reaction, which is widely exploited for the synthesis of diverse organic molecules. Typically, the Cu(I) catalysts are generated in situ through the chemical reduction of Cu(II) ions. Unfortunately, such homogeneous systems are considered impractical for large-scale production, and the involvement of multiple equilibria among catalysts, reductants, and substrates complicates elucidation of the catalytic process. Inspired by photosynthesis, which involves transient redox cycle of magnesium porphyrin moiety in chlorophylls, a metal complex-based strategy is proposed for light-triggered click chemistry reactions, utilizing a single-atom Cu(II)-loaded covalent organic framework as a heterogeneous catalyst, wherein the organic ligand functions as a robust scaffold and photoinitiator. Upon light irradiation, photogenerated electrons within the ligand moiety undergo ligand-to-metal charge transfer, injecting into the 3 d orbital of Cu(II) and reducing it to Cu(I) as a short-lived transient species with submicrosecond lifetime, which acts as efficient active sites for the click chemistry reaction. This controllable and robust system shows promise in photochemical cycloaddition of benzylazide and phenylacetylene, a model click chemistry reaction, achieving 95% substrate conversion and >90% triazole yield. The findings are anticipated to be broadly applicable in areas such as sustainable photolithography and polymer chemistry.
SN - 2041-1723
ER -