Lead halide perovskites for photocatalytic organic synthesis.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 31253792.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-019-10634-x and PMC identifier 6599021.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Nature is capable of storing solar energy in chemical bonds via photosynthesis through a series of C-C, C-O and C-N bond-forming reactions starting from CO<sub>2</sub> and light. Direct capture of solar energy for organic synthesis is a promising approach. Lead (Pb)-halide perovskite solar cells reach 24.2% power conversion efficiency, rendering perovskite a unique type material for solar energy capture. We argue that photophysical properties of perovskites already proved for photovoltaics, also should be of interest in photoredox organic synthesis. Because the key aspects of these two applications are both relying on charge separation and transfer. Here we demonstrated that perovskites nanocrystals are exceptional candidates as photocatalysts for fundamental organic reactions, for example C-C, C-N and C-O bond-formations. Stability of CsPbBr<sub>3</sub> in organic solvents and ease-of-tuning their bandedges garner perovskite a wider scope of organic substrate activations. Our low-cost, easy-to-process, highly-efficient, air-tolerant and bandedge-tunable perovskites may bring new breakthrough in organic chemistry.