Glycine photosynthesis via C-N coupling of waste plastic and nitrate over diatomic Pd-B catalyst.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 41559096.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-026-68666-z and PMC identifier 12923525.
- Licence recorded as CC BY-NC-ND.
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Abstract
Photocatalytic C-N coupling offers a promising approach for the sustainable production of amino acids, but the uncontrolled coupling pathway of reaction intermediates limits yield and selectivity. This paper describes a Pd-B diatomic catalyst that can selectively catalyze the photosynthesis of glycine via C-N coupling reaction between waste poly(ethylene terephthalate)-derived ethylene glycol and nitrate, achieving a glycine yield of 2.9 mmol g<sub>cat</sub><sup>-1</sup> h<sup>-1</sup> with a selectivity of 92%. Mechanistic investigations reveal that ethylene glycol is photo-oxidized to glycolaldehyde at the hole-rich B site, while nitrate is photo-reduced to NH<sub>4</sub><sup>+</sup>/NH<sub>3</sub> at the electron-rich Pd site. Subsequently, glycolaldehyde undergoes C-N coupling with NH<sub>4</sub><sup>+</sup>/NH<sub>3</sub>, and further photo-oxidized to form glycine. The Pd-B diatomic site more effectively stabilizes the glycolaldehyde intermediate, resulting in a more favorable C-N coupling pathway than metal oxide and enhancing glycine selectivity. Thus, we show a catalytic system for selective glycine photosynthesis by precisely regulating the reaction pathways of key intermediates.