Photochemistry articles within Nature Communications

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    | Open Access

    Can organic chemistry mimic nature in efficiency and sustainability? Not yet, but recent developments in photoredox catalysis animated the synthetic chemistry field, providing greener opportunities for industry and academia.

    • Giacomo E. M. Crisenza
    •  & Paolo Melchiorre

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Photoinduced non-adiabatic intramolecular processes have important applications but their mechanisms are challenging to explore. Here the authors detect and assign vibrational wavepacket dynamics in a Fe carbene complex by ultrafast X-ray emission spectroscopy and X-ray scattering, resolving nuclear and electronic motion.

    • Kristjan Kunnus
    • , Morgane Vacher
    •  & Kelly J. Gaffney

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Covalently bridged π-stacked dimers are excellent molecular platforms for understanding the relationship between stacking orientation and properties. Here, the authors synthesize a pair of π-stacked dimers that are aligned either cofacially or crosswise, allowing them to compare how the intramolecular stacking mode affects each dimer’s photoswitching properties.

    • Ru-Qiang Lu
    • , Xiao-Yun Yan
    •  & Xiao-Yu Cao

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Singlet fission is a promising carrier multiplication process, where a singlet exciton is split in two triplet states. Here the authors propose an oxygen-assisted two-step mechanism for singlet fission accounting for ~ 40% triplet quantum yield in dilute solutions where the single-step mechanism is inactive.

    • Nikolaus Wollscheid
    • , J. Luis Pérez Lustres
    •  & Tiago Buckup

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Low dimensional lead halide perovskites possess intriguing optical properties that are still under debate. Here Cui et al. use hydrogen bonds containing spacers to synthesize highly luminescent perovskites with fully isolated lead-bromide octahedras and shed light on the origin of the emission.

    • Bin-Bin Cui
    • , Ying Han
    •  & Qi Chen

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The development of lightweight and safe hydrogen carrier materials is desirable for hydrogen energy storage and release. Here, authors prepare hydrogen boride nanosheets and observe hydrogen gas production induced by light irradiation.

    • Reiya Kawamura
    • , Nguyen Thanh Cuong
    •  & Masahiro Miyauchi

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Sinapate esters are promising nature-inspired sunscreen and antioxidant agents but their photoisomerization may lead to ineffective or harmful species. Here the authors propose a symmetric ester with indistinguishable trans and cis isomers and prove its effectiveness by optical spectroscopies on a skin mimic.

    • Michael D. Horbury
    • , Emily L. Holt
    •  & Vasilios G. Stavros

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Light-harvesting antennas and efficient energy transfer enable photosynthesis in low light conditions in natural systems. Here the authors resolve exciton properties and the role of structural hierarchy in a model light-harvesting complex by excited-state 2D spectroscopy on a microfluidic platform.

    • Björn Kriete
    • , Julian Lüttig
    •  & Maxim S. Pshenichnikov

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Activatable fluorophores are of interest for a wide range of applications but the need for caging groups complicates their development and application. Here, the authors report on a photoactivatable silicon rhodamine derivative and its application in live cell imaging and single-particle tracking.

    • Michelle S. Frei
    • , Philipp Hoess
    •  & Kai Johnsson

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Ultrafast photo-induced processes in complex systems require theoretical models and their experimental validation which are still lacking. Here the authors investigate singlet fission in a pentacene dimer by a combined experimental and theoretical approach providing a real-time visualisation of the process.

    • Christoph Schnedermann
    • , Antonios M. Alvertis
    •  & Andrew J. Musser

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Many animals use the Earth’s magnetic field for orientation, yet the underlying principles are poorly understood. The authors show that a molecular triad acts as a chemical compass in magnetic fields of similar magnitude to that of the Earth, supporting the hypothesis that photo-initiated quantum processes underlie bird magnetoreception.

    • Christian Kerpal
    • , Sabine Richert
    •  & Christiane R. Timmel

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Nonadiabatic excited state processes involve mixing of electronic and nuclear wavefunctions, which are difficult to disentangle. Here the authors explore by time-resolved X-ray absorption near edge structure the wavepacket dynamics of a copper(I)-phenanthroline complex, resolving different vibrational modes.

    • Tetsuo Katayama
    • , Thomas Northey
    •  & Thomas J. Penfold

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Photo-induced polymerizations are being utilized to design and fabricate macromolecular structures with spatial and temporal control. Here the authors use a near-infrared light free-radical photoinitiator consisting of oxime-ester coumarin functionalities on the surface of upconversion nanoparticles for free-radical and thiol-ene photopolymerizations.

    • Zhiquan Li
    • , Xiucheng Zou
    •  & Yusuf Yagci

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Bacteriorhodopsin (bR) is a light-driven proton pump. Here the authors combine time-resolved crystallography at a free-electron laser, ultrafast spectroscopy and quantum chemistry to study the structural changes following multiphoton photoexcitation of bR and find that they occur within 300 fs not only in the light-absorbing chromophore but also in the surrounding protein.

    • Gabriela Nass Kovacs
    • , Jacques-Philippe Colletier
    •  & Ilme Schlichting

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Photoswitchable nanoparticles can be used for selective imaging in biological systems but usually have only one color. Here the authors develop a two-color fluorescent emissive system that allows full on-off switching of one component color of the system while the other color is unaffected, which has implications for super-resolution imaging.

    • Dojin Kim
    • , Keunsoo Jeong
    •  & Soo Young Park

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Confidently separating the photothermal effect from the generation of energetic charge carriers and quantifying their relative contribution to chemical reactions remain a great challenge in plasmon-mediated chemical reactions. Here, authors describe a strategy based on the construction of a plasmonic electrode coupled with photoelectrochemistry to quantitatively disentangle these two effects.

    • Chao Zhan
    • , Bo-Wen Liu
    •  & Zhong-Qun Tian

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Tsuji–Trost allylation is a traditional method for selective C-C bond formation that involves the use of palladium-based catalysts. Here, the authors report a metal-free, photocatalytic allylation of several heterocycles, amines and alcohols, which can be easily tuned towards the Z- or E- allylated product.

    • Ana María Martínez-Gualda
    • , Rafael Cano
    •  & José Alemán

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Semiconducting covalent organic frameworks (COF) with conjugated structures are desired for optoelectric conversion but poor reversibility of bond forming reactions hampers the formation of crystalline structures. Here, the authors synthesise COFs with disubstituted C = C linkages which enable water splitting under visible light irradiation.

    • Shuai Bi
    • , Can Yang
    •  & Fan Zhang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Molecular photoswitches provide an extremely simple solution for solar energy conversion and storage. Here, the authors report on the assembly of an operational solar energy-storing organic-oxide hybrid interface, which consists of a tailor-made molecular photoswitch and an atomically-defined semiconducting oxide film.

    • Christian Schuschke
    • , Chantal Hohner
    •  & Jörg Libuda

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The design of photoswitches which operate in the visible light regime, show a large separation of absorption bands and are functional in various solvents is challenging. Here the authors report Iminothioindoxyls as visible-light operated photoswitches with a band separation of 100 nm.

    • Mark W. H. Hoorens
    • , Miroslav Medved’
    •  & Wiktor Szymanski

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Personal protective air filtration masks are becoming increasingly desirable, but most commercial air purifiers have poor biocidal capabilities. Here the authors fabricate metal–organic framework-based air filters with both high particulate matter removal efficiencies and photocatalytic bactericidal properties.

    • Ping Li
    • , Jiazhen Li
    •  & Bo Wang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The donor–acceptor (D-A) conjugation has been adopted for two-dimensional (2D) covalent organic frameworks (COFs) for efficient generation of free charge carriers. Here, the authors investigate the dynamics of photogenerated charge carriers in 2D D-A COFs by combining femtosecond optical spectroscopy and non-adiabatic molecular dynamics simulation.

    • Tae Wu Kim
    • , Sunhong Jun
    •  & Hyotcherl Ihee

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Asymmetric transformations involving abundant chemical feedstocks such as toluene and its derivatives are rather rare. Here, the authors report the radical enantioselective C(sp3) −C(sp3) coupling of activated ketones with toluenes by means of chiral acid catalysis to afford enantioenriched tertiary alcohols.

    • Fuyuan Li
    • , Dong Tian
    •  & Zhiyong Jiang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The mechanism of the non-radiative recombination in halide perovskite nanocrystals has not been fully understood. Here Gerhard et al. resolve the contributions of individual recombination centers by photoluminescence blinking measurements and identify ion migration as the underlying mechanism.

    • Marina Gerhard
    • , Boris Louis
    •  & Ivan G. Scheblykin

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Super-resolution microscopy with spontaneously blinking dyes is dependent on pH and polarity of the medium. Here the authors introduce a photoactivatable fluxional fluorophore for live cell imaging that allows control over the fraction of spontaneously blinking molecules independently of medium properties.

    • Elias A. Halabi
    • , Dorothea Pinotsi
    •  & Pablo Rivera-Fuentes

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Two-photon absorption capacity of azobenzene photoswitches usually comes with a reduction in thermal stability. Here, the authors developed photoswitches with high two-photon sensitivity and enhanced cis isomer thermal lifetime for the control of glutamate receptors.

    • Gisela Cabré
    • , Aida Garrido-Charles
    •  & Ramon Alibés

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Alcohols are very useful building blocks in organic synthesis, however C–H functionaliztion in presence of free –OH groups is highly challenging. Here, the authors report a selective visible light-promoted α-functionalization of free alcohols with heteroarenes mediated by Selectofluor.

    • Linbin Niu
    • , Jiamei Liu
    •  & Aiwen Lei

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Infrared-light-induced carrier transfer is a key technology for ‘invisible’ optical devices, but making materials with the right properties remains a challenge. Here, the authors fabricate a clear and colourless material which converts infrared light to an electrical signal or energy based on a localized surface plasmon resonance, with implications for the development of invisible optical devices.

    • Masanori Sakamoto
    • , Tokuhisa Kawawaki
    •  & Toshiharu Teranishi

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Here, the authors explore the ultrafast photodynamics of methyl anthranilate. From the quantum beat behavior, the authors find evidence for ultrafast energy redistribution processes which hinder excited state relaxation, making methyl anthranilate a poor choice for a sunscreen chemical filter.

    • Natércia d. N. Rodrigues
    • , Neil C. Cole-Filipiak
    •  & Vasilios G. Stavros

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Superchiral light can be utilized to promote asymmetric photochemical reactions. Here the authors show that superchiral light imparts greater chiral bias to trigger asymmetric photo-polymerization reactions from initially achiral diacetylene monomers and enhanced optical dissymmetry in polydiacetylene films.

    • Chenlu He
    • , Guang Yang
    •  & Gang Zou

  • Article
    | Open Access

    While inorganic semiconductors are well-studied for their solar-to-fuel energy conversion abilities, organic materials receive far less attention. Here, authors prepare linear conjugated polymers as H2 evolution photocatalysts and rationalize photocatalytic activities with fundamental properties.

    • Michael Sachs
    • , Reiner Sebastian Sprick
    •  & Andrew I. Cooper

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Fixation of CO2 in organic molecules is an area of great interest due to the implications in sustainable chemistry. Here, the authors show a visible light-mediated hydrocarboxylation of ketimines with atmospheric CO2 to afford a number of α,α–diaryl α-amino acid derivatives.

    • Xinyuan Fan
    • , Xu Gong
    •  & Patrick J. Walsh

  • Article
    | Open Access

    It is known that intermolecular interactions impact electron transfer rates, but the mechanisms involved are challenging to define experimentally. Here, the authors have developed a platform that enables atomic orbital resolution of electron transfer through an explicit intermolecular interaction.

    • Cameron W. Kellett
    • , Wesley B. Swords
    •  & Curtis P. Berlinguette

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Controlled switching of the spin state of transition metal ions is key in many enzymatic reactions, but difficult to replicate in synthetic systems. Here the authors report on an iron(III) porphyrin with a photochromic axial ligand that, in solution, reversibly switches between low-spin and high-spin upon irradiation with two different wavelengths.

    • Sreejith Shankar
    • , Morten Peters
    •  & Rainer Herges

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Manipulation of the photochemistry of molecules is traditionally achieved through synthetic chemical modifications. Here the authors use computational photochemistry to show how to control azobenzene photoisomerization through hybrid light–molecule states (polaritons).

    • J. Fregoni
    • , G. Granucci
    •  & S. Corni

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