Elucidating heterogeneous photocatalytic superiority of microporous porphyrin organic cage

Nat Commun. 2020 Feb 26;11(1):1047. doi: 10.1038/s41467-020-14831-x.

Abstract

The investigation on the catalytic properties of porous organic cages is still in an initial stage. Herein, the reaction of cyclohexanediamine with 5,15-di[3',5'-diformyl(1,1'-biphenyl)]porphyrin affords a porphyrin tubular organic cage, PTC-1(2H). Transient absorption spectroscopy in solution reveals much prolonged triplet lifetime of PTC-1(2H) relative to monomer reference, illustrating the unique photophysical behavior of cagelike photosensitizer. The long triplet lifetime ensures high-efficiency singlet oxygen evolution according to homogeneous photo-bleach experiment, electron spin-resonance spectroscopy, and aerobic photo-oxidation of benzylamine. Furthermore, microporous supramolecular framework of PTC-1(2H) is able to promote the heterogeneous photo-oxidation of various primary amines with conversion efficiency above 99% under visible light irradiation. These results indicate the great application potentials of porous organic cages in heterogeneous phase.

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