Carbon dots-incorporated CuSeO3 rationally regulates activity and selectivity of the hydrogen species via light-converted electrons

The chemoselective hydrogenation of structurally diverse nitroaromatics is a challenging process. Generally, catalyst activity tends to decrease when excellent selectivity is guaranteed. We here present a novel photocatalyst combining amino-functionalized carbon dots (N-CDs) with copper selenite nanoparticles (N-CDs@CuSeO3) for simultaneously improving selectivity and activity. Under visible light irradiation, the prepared N-CDs@CuSeO3 exhibits 100% catalytic selectivity for the formation of 4-aminostyrene at full conversion of 4-nitrostyrene in aqueous solvent within a few minutes. Such excellent photocatalytic performance is mainly attributed to the precise control of the hydrogen species released from the ammonia borane by means of light-converted electrons upon N-CDs@CuSeO3. Besides, the defect states at the interface of N-CDs and CuSeO3 enable holes to be trapped for promoting separation and transfer of photogenerated charges, allowing more hydrogen species to participate in catalytic reaction.(c) 2023 Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of Chinese Chemical Society and Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences.