Novel BODIPY-based MOFs toward high-efficiency photocatalytic oxidation of sulfides and arylboronic acids

Abstract

Photocatalysis is a green synthetic protocol for organic transformations. Energy and charge transfer have been proved to be very crucial for efficient photocatalytic oxidation of organic compounds. Herein, we report the synthesis of two novel MOFs named [Zn₂(BODIPY)₂(TDC)₂] (1) and [Cd(BODIPY)(TDC)]·2H₂O (2) via a one-pot solvothermal method with a pyridine-functionalized boron dipyrromethene (BODIPY) and 2,5-thiophenedicarboxylic acid (H₂TDC). In particular, compound 1 exhibited high efficiency and selectivity toward aerobic oxidation of thioanisoles and phenylboronic acids under green and benign conditions, utilizing molecular oxygen in air as the oxidant under blue light irradiation, in a fully recyclable manner for at least 6 continuous runs without significantly reduced performance. The excellent photocatalytic activity of compound 1 originates from superoxide radical anions (O₂˙⁻) and singlet oxygen (¹O₂) furnished by the synergistic charge transfer (CT) and energy transfer (ET) processes. Apparently, these active oxygen species enable a promising approach for the photocatalytic oxidation of organic compounds.