Heterogeneous photocatalytic C–C coupling: mechanism of plasmon-mediated reductive dimerization of benzyl bromides by supported gold nanoparticles

Abstract

The use of gold nanoparticles supported on TiO₂ (Au@TiO₂) as photocatalysts was extended to include photoinduced reductive C–C coupling. Surface plasmon excitation of supported AuNPs in the presence of an amine leads to the C–C coupling of a variety of substituted benzyl bromides at room temperature with good yields in a free radical-mediated reaction. The overall efficiency of the C–C coupling is largely dependent on the nature of the amine used.