Nanomaterials in photocatalysed organic transformations: development, prospects and challenges

Abstract

Photoredox catalysis has gained widespread attention in recent years as a powerful tool to drive chemical transformations in the presence of light, particularly for molecules that are capable of showing redox activity. A typical photocatalytic pathway may involve electron or energy transfer processes. To date, photoredox catalysis has been explored mainly with Ru, Ir and other metal or small molecule based photocatalysts. Due to their homogeneous nature, they cannot be reused and are not economical. These factors have motivated researchers to look for an alternate class of photocatalysts which are more economical and reusable, thus paving the way for protocols that can be easily transferred to the industrial sectors as well. In this regard, scientists have come up with various nanomaterials as sustainable and economical alternatives. These have unique properties that arise from their structure, surface functionalization, etc. Apart from that, at the lower dimensions, they bear an increased surface to volume ratio, which can provide an enhanced number of active sites for catalysis. Nanomaterials have been used for various applications like sensing, bioimaging, drug delivery, energy generation, etc. However, their potential as photocatalysts for organic transformations has been taken up as a subject of research quite recently. This article focusses on the use of nanomaterials in photo-mediated organic transformations with a wider goal to motivate readers from materials as well as organic synthetic backgrounds to dig deeper into this area of research. Various reports have been included to cover the plethora of reactions that have been explored with nanomaterials as a photocatalyst. The scientific community has also been introduced to the challenges and prospects of the field, which will further help in its growth. In a nutshell, this writeup will help to cater to the interest of a large group of researchers to highlight the prospects of nanomaterials in photocatalysis.