Biomimetic supramolecular platform enables sequential four-step energy transfer and reactive oxygen species modulation for selective photocatalytic oxidations

Abstract

Natural photosynthesis, a quintessential energy conversion process sustaining life on Earth through its sophisticated multi-step energy transfer cascades, has inspired the development of artificial light-harvesting systems aimed at mimicking its efficiency and complexity. Here, we report a supramolecular energy transfer platform constructed via electrostatic interactions between sodium polystyrene sulfonate (RSS) and a quaternary ammonium salt modified cyano-substituted phenylenevinylene derivative (PPTA) in H2O medium, achieving a sequential four-step energy relay. Energy is sequentially transferred from the PPTA-RSS complex to eosin Y (EY), rhodamine B (RhB), sulforhodamine 101 (SR101), and cyanine 5 (Cy5), with stepwise enhancement in superoxide anion radical (O2•−) generation efficiency. Notably, the unique energy transfer pathway effectively suppresses the generation of singlet oxygen (1O2), mechanistically circumventing the oxidative damage to small molecules and the formation of by-products commonly encountered in organic synthesis. Moreover, the selective oxidative activity of O2•− not only enables the visible-light-induced amidation of aromatic aldehydes with amines in an aqueous solution, transition-metal-free system, providing an economical, green, and mild approach for amide bond formation, but also simultaneously achieves the oxidative dehydroaromatization of nitrogen-containing heterocycles (e.g., tetrahydroquinolines and dihydroindoles), offering a universal strategy for the efficient synthesis of unsaturated nitrogen heterocyclic skeletons. This study has constructed an ordered multi-step energy transfer system with precise reactive oxygen species (ROS) regulation through supramolecular assembly, providing a reliable research paradigm for efficient light-to-chemical energy conversion and green organic synthesis.

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Edge Article
Submitted
15 Jul 2025
Accepted
16 Aug 2025
First published
18 Aug 2025
This article is Open Access

All publication charges for this article have been paid for by the Royal Society of Chemistry
Creative Commons BY-NC license

Chem. Sci., 2025, Accepted Manuscript

Biomimetic supramolecular platform enables sequential four-step energy transfer and reactive oxygen species modulation for selective photocatalytic oxidations

Y. Bi, W. Liu, H. Liu and L. Xing, Chem. Sci., 2025, Accepted Manuscript , DOI: 10.1039/D5SC05260B

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