Construction of artificial light-harvesting systems based on a variety of polyelectrolyte materials and application in photocatalysis

In the present work, we designed and synthesized a cationic cyano-substituted p-phenylenevinylene derivative (PPTA), which can form supramolecular assemblies through electrostatic interaction with a type of polyelectrolyte material anionic guar gum (GP5A). A polyelectrolyte-based artificial light harvesting system (LHS) was constructed by selecting a fluorescent dye sulforhodamine 101 (SR101) that matched its energy level as an energy acceptor. The energy harvested by the acceptors was used in the aqueous phase cross dehydrogenation coupling (CDC) reaction with a yield of up to 87%. In addition, the general applicability of polyelectrolyte materials to build artificial LHS was demonstrated by three other polyelectrolyte materials sodium polyphenylene sulfonate (RSS), sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), and sodium polyacrylate (PAAS), in which the CDC reaction was also carried out by these three LHSs and obtained high yields. This work not only provides a new method to construct LHSs by using polyelectrolyte materials, but also provides a beneficial exploration for further applying the energy harvested in LHSs to the field of photocatalysis in an aqueous solution.(c) 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

In this study, a cationic cyano-substituted p-phenylenevinylene derivative (PPTA) was synthesized and used to form supramolecular assemblies with anionic guar gum (GP5A) through electrostatic interaction. A polyelectrolyte-based artificial light harvesting system (LHS) was constructed using a fluorescent dye (SR101) as an energy acceptor. The energy harvested by the acceptor was utilized in a cross dehydrogenation coupling (CDC) reaction in the aqueous phase, achieving a yield of up to 87%. The general applicability of polyelectrolyte materials in constructing artificial LHSs was demonstrated using three other polyelectrolyte materials (RSS, CMC, and PAAS), which also achieved high yields in the CDC reaction. This work not only presents a new method for constructing LHSs using polyelectrolyte materials, but also explores the potential application of harvested energy in LHSs for aqueous photocatalysis.