Transition metal photocatalysts convert light into chemical reactivity, yet suffer from light-limited operation and require blue-to-UV excitation. In photosynthesis, light capture and reactivity have been optimized by separation into distinct sites. Inspired by this modular architecture, we synthesized a biohybrid photocatalyst by covalent attachment of a photosynthetic light-harvesting protein to the transition metal photocatalyst tris(2,2′-bipyridine)ruthenium(II) ([Ru(bpy)3]2+). Spectroscopic investigation found that absorbed energy was efficiently transferred from the light-harvesting protein to [Ru(bpy)3]2+. The utility of the biohybrid photocatalyst was demonstrated via an increase in product yields for two test reactions, thiol-ene coupling and cysteinyl desulfurization, including recovered reactivity at red wavelengths where [Ru(bpy)3]2+ alone does not absorb. This biohybrid strategy can be readily implemented to other photocatalysts for future applications.

Enabling photoredox catalysis with low energy light via a biohybrid strategy

ACS Spring 2022

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.