Role of an Ice Surface in the Photoreaction of Coumarins

Ice affects many chemical reactions in nature, which greatly influences the atmosphere, climate, and life. However, the exact mechanism of ice in these chemical reactions remains elusive. For example, it is still an open question as to whether ice can act as a catalyst to greatly enhance the reactivity and selectivity, which is essential for the production of some natural compounds in our planet. Here, we discover that ice can lead to high efficiency and stereoselectivity of the [2 + 2] photodimerization of coumarin and its derivatives. The conversion of the [2 + 2] photodimerization of coumarins enhanced by ice is dozens of times higher than that in the unfrozen saturated solution, and the reaction displays a high syn-head-head stereoselectivity (> 95%) in comparison with those in the absence of the ice. Note that almost no reaction occurs in the crystal powder and melt of the coumarins, indicating that the role of ice in the photodimerization reaction is not simply due to the usual mechanisms found in the freezing concentration. We further reveal that the reaction rate is found to be proportional to the total area of the ice surface and follows Michaelis-Menten-like kinetics, indicating that the ice surface catalyzes the reaction. Molecular dynamics simulations demonstrate that ice surfaces can induce reactants to form a two-dimensional liquid-crystal-ordered layer with a suitable intermolecular distance and unique side-by-side packing, facilitating stereoselective photodimerization for syn-head-head dimers. These findings give evidence that ice-surface-induced molecular assembly may play an important role in atmospheric heterogeneous photoreaction processes.