Polymeric carbon nitride materials have been used in numerous light‐to‐energy conversion applications ranging from photocatalysis to optoelectronics. For a new application and modelling, we first refined the crystal structure of potassium poly(heptazine imide) (K‐PHI)—a benchmark carbon nitride material in photocatalysis—by means of X‐ray powder diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. Using the crystal structure of K‐PHI, periodic DFT calculations were performed to calculate the density‐of‐states (DOS) and localize intra band states (IBS). IBS were found to be responsible for the enhanced K‐PHI absorption in the near IR region, to serve as electron traps, and to be useful in energy transfer reactions. Once excited with visible light, carbon nitrides, in addition to the direct recombination, can also undergo singlet–triplet intersystem crossing. We utilized the K‐PHI centered triplet excited states to trigger a cascade of energy transfer reactions and, in turn, to sensitize, for example, singlet oxygen (1O2) as a starting point to synthesis up to 25 different N‐rich heterocycles.
Polymere Kohlenstoffnitridmaterialien wurden erfolgreich in zahlreichen Anwendungen zur Umwandlung von Licht in Energie, die von der Photokatalyse bis zur Optoelektronik reichen, eingesetzt. Für eine neue Anwendung und Modellierung verfeinerten wir zunächst die Kristallstruktur von Kalium‐Polyheptazinimid (K‐PHI) – einem Referenz‐Kohlenstoffnitridmaterial in der Photokatalyse – mithilfe von Röntgenpulverdiffraktometrie und Transmissionselektronenmikroskopie. Unter Verwendung der Kristallstruktur von K‐PHI wurden periodische DFT‐Berechnungen durchgeführt, um die Zustandsdichte zu berechnen und Intra‐Banden‐Zustände (IBS) zu lokalisieren. Es wurde festgestellt, dass IBS für die erhöhte Absorption von K‐PHI im nahen IR‐Bereich verantwortlich sind, als Elektronenfallen dienen und bei Energietransferreaktionen nützlich sind. Einmal mit sichtbarem Licht angeregt, können Kohlenstoffnitride neben der direkten Rekombination auch Intersystem Crossing vom Singulett‐ in den Triplett‐Zustand durchlaufen. Wir nutzen die angeregten zentrierten Triplett‐Zustände im K‐PHI, um eine Kaskade von Energieübertragungsreaktionen auszulösen und im Gegenzug z. B. Singulett‐Sauerstoff (1O2), als Ausgangspunkt für die Synthese von bis zu 25 verschiedenen N‐reichen Heterozyklen, zu sensibilisieren.
A combination of photochemistry and proton coupled electron transfer (PCET) is a primary strategy employed by biochemical systems and synthetic chemistry to enable uphill reactions under mild conditions. Degenerate nanometer‐sized n‐type semiconductor nanoparticles (SCNPs) with the Fermi level above the bottom of the conduction band are strongly reducing and act more like metals than semiconductors. Application of the degenerate SCNPs is limited to few examples. Herein, we load microporous potassium poly(heptazine imide) (K‐PHI) nanoparticles with electrons (e‒) and charge balancing protons (H+) in an illumination phase using sacrificial agents. e‒/H+ in the K‐PHI nanoparticles are weakly bound and therefore could be used in a range of PCET reactions in dark, such as generation of aryl radicals from aryl halides, ketyl radicals from ketones, and 6e‒/6H+ reduction of nitrobenzene to aniline. The integration of several features that until now were intrinsic for plants and natural photosynthesis into a transition metal free nanomaterial composed of abundant elements (C, N, and K) offers a powerful tool for synthetic organic chemistry.
Following our previous studies on potassium poly(heptazine imide) (K‐PHI), that is, catalyzed photooxidative [3+2] aldoxime‐to‐nitrile addition to form 1,2,4‐oxadiazoles, we discovered that electron‐rich oximes yield the parent aldehydes instead of target products. In this work, the mechanism of this singlet oxygen‐mediated deoximation process was established using a series of control reactions and spectroscopic measurements such as steady‐state and time‐resolved fluorescence quenching experiments. Additionally, the singlet‐triplet energy gap value was obtained for K‐PHI in suspension, and the reaction scope was broadened to include ketoximes.
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