Photochemistry articles within Nature Communications

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  • Article
    | Open Access

    The direct and selective C(sp3)-H functionalization of cycloalkanes and alkanes is useful in organic synthesis but its application to asymmetric catalysis has been less explored. Here, the authors demonstrate the incorporation of a dual asymmetric photocatalyst which leads to the development of asymmetric sulfonylation involving direct functionalization of cycloalkanes, alkanes, toluene derivatives or ethers.

    • Shi Cao
    • , Wei Hong
    •  & Lei Gong

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Metabolites can distinguish pathogenic from healthy cells, but they are hard to couple to current photosensitizers without altering their biological activity. Here the authors design a new family of photosensitizers that retain metabolite function to target pathogenic cells and ablate them by photodynamic therapy.

    • Sam Benson
    • , Fabio de Moliner
    •  & Marc Vendrell

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Designing highly efficient chromophores comprising earth-abundant elements is essential for both light harvesting and electron transfer reactions. Here, authors prepare a copper purpurin complex that shows enhanced photocatalytic activity for CO2 reduction to CO with a high selectivity.

    • Huiqing Yuan
    • , Banggui Cheng
    •  & Zhiji Han

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Sunlight can change the composition of atmospheric aerosol particles, but the mechanisms through which this happens are not well known. Here, the authors show that fast radical reaction and slow diffusion near viscous organic particle surfaces can cause oxygen depletion, radical trapping and humidity dependent oxidation.

    • Peter A. Alpert
    • , Jing Dou
    •  & Markus Ammann

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Understanding the mechanism of non-radiative losses in organic photovoltaics is crucial to improve the performance further. Here, the authors use combined device and spectroscopic data to reveal universal model to maximise exciton splitting and charge separation by adjusting the energy of charge transfer state.

    • Nicola Gasparini
    • , Franco V. A. Camargo
    •  & Christoph J. Brabec

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Predicting the conversion and selectivity of a photochemical reactions is challenging. Here, the authors introduce a framework for the quantitative prediction of the time-dependent progress of a photoligation reaction and predict LED-light induced conversion through a wavelength-resolved numerical simulation.

    • Jan P. Menzel
    • , Benjamin B. Noble
    •  & Christopher Barner-Kowollik

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Vibronic coupling is a key feature of molecular electronic transitions, but its visualization in real space is an experimental challenge. Here the authors, using scanning tunneling microscopy induced luminescence, resolve the effect of vibronic coupling with different modes on the electron distributions in real space in a single pentacene molecule.

    • Fan-Fang Kong
    • , Xiao-Jun Tian
    •  & J. G. Hou

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Activation of narrow-bandgap photocatalysts holds key to applicable solar-to-hydrogen energy conversion. Here, the authors demonstrate effective sequential cocatalyst decoration for such narrow-bandgap photocatalysts to realise highly-efficient hydrogen evolution and Z-scheme water splitting.

    • Zheng Wang
    • , Ying Luo
    •  & Kazunari Domen

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Synthesis of peptides and proteins containing multiple disulfide bonds is challenging, limiting the elucidation of their biological functions. Here, the authors report a general synthetic strategy for fast formation of two and three disulfide bonds in peptides and proteins, and apply it to prepare several therapeutically important peptides.

    • Shay Laps
    • , Fatima Atamleh
    •  & Ashraf Brik

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Photodynamic inactivation is a common antibacterial method but often fails in extremely acidic environments (pH< 4). Here, the authors demonstrate halogenation of fluorescein for the development of a photodynamic agent which works in extremely acidic environments and demonstrate sterilisation applications in fruit juice and in vivo.

    • Ying Wang
    • , Jiazhuo Li
    •  & Peng Wu

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Photomediated-reversible-deactivation radical polymerisation has a limited scope of available photocatalysts due to multiple stringent requirements of properties. Here the authors show, an oxygen-mediated reductive quenching pathway for photoinduced electron transfer reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer polymerisation.

    • Chenyu Wu
    • , Kenward Jung
    •  & Cyrille Boyer

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Organocatalytic atom transfer radical polymerization (O-ATRP) is attractive due to its metal-free nature but catalysts are rarely applied at a low loading. Here the authors introduce a catalyst design logic based on heteroatom-doping of polycyclic arenes, which led to the discovery of oxygen-doped anthanthrene as an organic photoredox catalysts for O-ATRP.

    • Qiang Ma
    • , Jinshuai Song
    •  & Saihu Liao

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The use of short wavelength light in photolysis applications in chemistry and biology is limited by photolytic reaction yields, photodamage and photobleaching. Here, the authors report a general long wavelength single photon driven photolysis method using a triplet-triplet annihilation process.

    • Ling Huang
    • , Le Zeng
    •  & Gang Han

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Achieving efficient photoelectrochemical cells requires insights into the ion kinetics at the surface of photoelectrode. Here, the authors show a new platform for investigating strong coupling between hydroxide ions and surface charge carriers by using monolayer InSe as the anode with high photocurrent density.

    • Haihong Zheng
    • , Yizhen Lu
    •  & Yang Cao

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Translating discovery scale vial-based batch reactions to continuous flow scale-up conditions is limited by significant time and resource constraints. Here, the authors report a photochemical droplet microfluidic platform, which enables high throughput reaction discovery in flow to generate pharmaceutically relevant compound libraries.

    • Alexandra C. Sun
    • , Daniel J. Steyer
    •  & Corey R. J. Stephenson

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Developing a new π-skeletal aromatic fused-ring for tuning material properties in organic electronics is still a challenge due to limited chemical approach. Here, the authors enrich the chemistry by synthesizing SiO-bridged ladder-type π-skeletons with enhanced planarity and deeper energy levels than CO-bridged counterpart.

    • Ying Qin
    • , Hui Chen
    •  & Dongbing Zhao

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Chiral functional materials with circularly polarized luminescence can be used in various applications but rarely reported. Here the authors show, a complex system, which show intense circularly polarized ultraviolet luminescence with large glum value, enabling a chiral UV light triggered enantioselective polymerization.

    • Dongxue Han
    • , Xuefeng Yang
    •  & Pengfei Duan

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Designing efficient organic solar cells is limited by the energy required to overcome the mutual Coulomb attraction between electron and hole. Here, the authors reveal long-lived and disorder-free charge-transfer states enable efficient endothermic charge separation in non-fullerene systems with marginal energy offset.

    • Ture F. Hinrichsen
    • , Christopher C. S. Chan
    •  & Philip C. Y. Chow

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Efficient photocatalytic hydrogen generation relies on highly choreographed delivery of protons and electrons to the reaction site such that they arrive just in time. Here, authors show that proton transport can be controlled by light with the photobase effect to increase H2 generation rate.

    • Jiawen Fang
    • , Tushar Debnath
    •  & Jacek K. Stolarczyk

  • Perspective
    | Open Access

    Photon-induced charge separation phenomena are at the heart of light-harvesting applications but challenging to be described by quantum mechanical models. Here the authors illustrate the potential of machine-learning approaches towards understanding the fundamental processes governing electronic excitations.

    • Florian Häse
    • , Loïc M. Roch
    •  & Alán Aspuru-Guzik

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Revealing the spatial distribution of hot carriers in real space is crucial to their efficient utilization. Here, the authors show that in-situ electrochemical tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy is able to resolve the spatial distribution of reactive hot carriers with a nanometer spatial resolution.

    • Sheng-Chao Huang
    • , Xiang Wang
    •  & Bin Ren

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Understanding and predicting the kinetics of reverse intersystem crossing (RISC) facilitates the design of materials. Here, the authors demonstrate a theoretical expression that reproduces experimental RISC rate constants ranging over five orders of magnitude in selected molecules.

    • Naoya Aizawa
    • , Yu Harabuchi
    •  & Yong-Jin Pu

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The mechanisms of formation of the (6-4) photoproducts in DNA damage by sunlight is still debated. Here the authors show, by optical spectroscopies and computations, the details of the formation of a (6-4) photoadduct via the thietane intermediate in a single-stranded DNA oligonucleotide.

    • Luis A. Ortiz-Rodríguez
    • , Christian Reichardt
    •  & Carlos E. Crespo-Hernández

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The number of usable light-responsive enzymes is limited, despite the potential biotechnological applications. Here, the authors report a flavoprotein monooxygenase which is controllable by blue light illumination, and propose a mechanism involving protein-mediated radical photoreduction of FAD via a semiquinone intermediate.

    • Simon Ernst
    • , Stefano Rovida
    •  & Steffen L. Drees

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Autonomous control of liquid motion is vital to the development of new actuators and pumps in fluid systems but autonomous control of fluid motion is inaccessible in current systems. Here, the authors identify unique features of a photochromic molecular switch that enables its use for self-regulating light activated control of fluid flow.

    • Serena Seshadri
    • , Luke F. Gockowski
    •  & Megan T. Valentine

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Solar-driven CO2 reduction by abundant water to alcohols is hindered by the sluggish water oxidation reaction. Here, the authors demonstrate that the microwave-synthesized carbon-dots possess unique hole-accepting nature, allowing stoichiometric oxygen and methanol production from water and CO2 with nearly 100% selectivity to methanol.

    • Yiou Wang
    • , Xu Liu
    •  & Junwang Tang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    OLED materials based on thermally activated delayed fluorescence have promising efficiency. Here, the authors investigate an organometallic multicore Cu complex as luminophore, by pump-probe X-ray techniques at three different facilities deriving a complete picture of the charge transfer in the triplet excited state.

    • Grigory Smolentsev
    • , Christopher J. Milne
    •  & Matthias Vogt

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Symmetric multibranched donor-acceptor molecules are promising photoactive materials for diverse applications. Here the authors show that, in octupolar and quadrupolar dyes, excited-state symmetry breaking occurs efficiently in polar solvents only and results in a concentration of the excitation that may trigger fast photochemical reactions.

    • Bogdan Dereka
    • , Denis Svechkarev
    •  & Eric Vauthey

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Circular polarization luminescence (CPL) spectroscopy is a tool to study chiroptical systems, but the measurement process is generally very slow. The authors introduce a CPL technique with much faster acquisition, demonstrating meaningful time-dependent measurements and enabling new applications.

    • Lewis E. MacKenzie
    • , Lars-Olof Pålsson
    •  & Robert Pal

  • Article
    | Open Access

    CO2 to methanol synthesis is a promising approach for renewable fuel production. Here, the authors show that UV and visible light dual activation promotes photothermal methanol production at the copper-zinc oxide interfacial perimeter by accelerating formate conversion and hydrogen molecule activation.

    • Bingqiao Xie
    • , Roong Jien Wong
    •  & Rose Amal

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Electron spin is a fundamental property of molecules, and changes in spin state affect both molecular structure and dynamics. Here, the authors resolve, by ultrafast electron diffraction, the nuclear reorganization stabilizing spin transitions in a [FeII(bpy)3](PF6)2 crystal.

    • Yifeng Jiang
    • , Lai Chung Liu
    •  & R. J. Dwayne Miller

  • Article
    | Open Access

    C-N bond forming is an established strategy to form amines, which are quintessential in chemical synthesis and in nature. Here, the authors report three classes of photoredox reactions, involving C(sp3)-N coupling between N-centered radicals and alkyl radicals and C(sp3)- C(sp3) coupling via C(sp3)-H alkylation.

    • Quanping Guo
    • , Qiang Peng
    •  & Zhaoqing Xu

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Excitation energy transfer within light-harvesting complex II underlies plant photosynthesis but its detailed mechanism is not yet understood. Here the authors explore, by 2D electronic-vibrational spectroscopy, the role of mixing of vibrational and electronic degrees of freedom.

    • Eric A. Arsenault
    • , Yusuke Yoneda
    •  & Graham R. Fleming

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Resolving the kinetics of energy dissipation during photosynthesis is challenging due to complex photophysics and the coexistence of multiple antenna proteins. Here Son et al. overcome this by applying ultrabroadband 2D spectroscopy to LHCII reconstituted in lipid nanodiscs, revealing mechanisms of dissipation enhanced by the membrane.

    • Minjung Son
    • , Alberta Pinnola
    •  & Gabriela S. Schlau-Cohen

  • Comment
    | Open Access

    How does chemistry scale in complexity to unerringly direct biological functions? Nass Kovacs et al. have shown that bacteriorhodopsin undergoes structural changes tantalizingly similar to the expected pathway even under excessive excitation. Is the protein structure so highly evolved that it directs all deposited energy into the designed function?

    • R. J. Dwayne Miller
    • , Olivier Paré-Labrosse
    •  & Jessica E. Besaw

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Long-standing radical species have raised noteworthy concerns in organic chemistry and but there remains a substantial challenge to produce long-standing radicals by light. Here, the authors demonstrate a stable dithienylethene derived photochromic radical for detection of peroxides and ozone.

    • Xuanying Chen
    • , Wandong Zhao
    •  & Liangliang Zhu

  • Article
    | Open Access

    A better understanding of processes responsible for photocurrent generation in semiconductors and nanocomposites is essential in many applications. Here, authors use a ZnO-based hybrid material to demonstrate an unusual photocurrent switching effect induced by varying irradiation intensities.

    • Agnieszka Podborska
    • , Maciej Suchecki
    •  & Konrad Szaciłowski

  • Comment
    | Open Access

    A pharmaceutical industry viewpoint on how the fundamental laws of photochemistry are used to identify the parameters required to implement photochemistry from lab to scale. Parameters such as photon stoichiometry and light intensity are highlighted within to inform future publications.

    • Holly E. Bonfield
    • , Thomas Knauber
    •  & Lee J. Edwards

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