Abstract
We have shown that CdS and CdSe nanoparticles can act as very efficient and highly chemoselective photocatalysts for the reduction of aromatic azides to aromatic amines. In several cases, the reaction proceeds with quantum yields near 0.5, which approaches the theoretical maximum for a two-electron process. The wide scope of the reaction was confirmed with compounds containing electron withdrawing (–NO2, CO2R, COR) and electron donating groups (–OMe,–R,–Cl) at the para-, meta-, and ortho-positions. Remarkably, the reaction is relatively insensitive to the electron demands of the substituent. However, azides with meta-substituents give slightly lower yields than those with the same substituent at the ortho- or para-position.
Similar content being viewed by others
References and notes
H. Weller, Colloidal Semiconductor Q-Particles: Chemistry in the transition region between solid state and molecules, Angew. Chem., Int. Ed. Engl., 1993, 32, 41–53.
A. Hengelin, Small-particle research: physicochemical properties of extremely small colloidal metal and semiconductor particles, Chem. Rev., 1989, 89, 1861.
L. E. Brus, Quantum crystallites and non-linear optics, Appl. Phys. A, 1991, 53, 465.
H. Weller, Quantized semiconductor particles: a novel state of matter for materials science, Adv. Mater., 1993, 5, 88–95.
L. Brus, G. Hadjipanayis and R. Siegel, Electronic and optical properties of semiconductor nanocrystals: from molecules to bulk crystals, Nanophase Mater., 1994, 433–448.
A. Alivisatos, Semiconductor clusters, nanocrystals, and quantum dots, Science, 1996, 271, 933–937.
T. Vossmeyer, L. Katsikas, M. Giersig, I. Popovic, K. Diesner, A. Chemseddine, A. Eychmuller and H. Weller, CdS nanoclusters: synthesis, characterization, size dependent oscillator strength, temperature shift of the excitonic transition energy, and reversible absorbance shift, J. Phys. Chem., 1994, 98, 7665–7673.
Y. Wang and N. Herron, Nanometer-sized semiconductor clusters: materials synthesis, quantum size effects, and photophysical properties, J. Phys. Chem., 1991, 95, 525–532.
D. Beydoun, R. Amal, G. Low and S. McEvoy, Role of nanoparticles in photocatalysis, J. Nanoparticle Res., 1999, 1, 439–458.
H. Matsumoto, H. Uchida, T. Matsunaga, K. Tanaka, T. Sakata, H. Mori and H. Yoneyama, Photoinduced reduction of viologens on size-separated CdS nanocrystals, J. Phys. Chem., 1994, 98, 11549–11556.
A. Hagfeldt and M. Gratzel, M. Light-induced redox reactions in nanocrystalline systems, Chem. Rev., 1995, 95, 49–68.
H. Yin, Y. Wada, T. Kitamura and S. Yanagida, Photoreductive dehalogenation of halogenated benzene derivatives using ZnS or CdS nanocrystallites as photocatalysts, Environ. Sci. Technol., 2001, 35, 227–231.
B. Korgel and H. Monbouquette, Quantum confinement effects enable photocatalyzed nitrate reduction at neutral pH Using CdS nanocrystals, J. Phys. Chem. B, 1997, 101, 5010–5017.
B. Korgel and H. Monbouquette, Controlled synthesis of mixed core and layered (Zn,Cd)S and (Hg,Cd)S Nanocrystals within Phosphatidylcholine Vesicles, Langmuir, 2000, 16, 3588–3594.
M. Hoffmann, S. Martin, W. Choi and D. Bahnemann, Encironmental applications of semiconductor photocatalysis, Chem. Rev., 1995, 95, 69–96.
H. Yoneyama, Photoreduction of carbon dioxide on quantized semiconductor nanoparticles in solution, Catal. Today, 1997, 39, 169–175.
H. Inoue, T. Torimoto, T. Sakata, H. Mori and H. Yoneyama, Effects of size quantizeation of zinc sulfide microcystallites on photocatalytic reduction of carbon dioxide, Chem. Lett., 1990, 1483–1486.
M. Green and P. O’Brien, Recent advances in the preparation of semiconductors as isolated nanometric particles: new routes to quantum dots, Chem. Commun., 1999, 2235–2241.
C. Murray, D. Norris and M. Bawendi, Synthesis and characterization of nearly monodisperse CdE (E = sulfur, selenium, tellurium) semiconductor nanocrystallites, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 1993, 115, 8706–8715.
T. Vossmeyer, G. Reck, L. Katsikas, E. T. K. Haupt, B. Schultz and H. Weller, A “double diamond superlattice” built up of Cd17S4(SCH2CH2OH)26 clusters, Science, 1995, 267, 1476–1479.
Y. Nosaka, N. Ohta, T. Fukuyama and N. Fujii, Size control of ultrasmall CdS particles in aqueous solution by using various thiols, J. Colloid Interface Sci., 1993, 155, 23–29.
B. Degraff, D. Gillespie and R. Sundberg, Phenyl nitrene. a flash photolytic investigation of the reaction with secondary amines, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 1974, 96, 7491–7496.
A. Schrock and G. Schuster, Photochemistry of phenyl azide: chemical properties of the transient intermediates, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 1984, 106, 5228–5234.
E. Leyva, M. Platz, G. Persy and J. Wirz, Photochemistry of phenyl azide: the role of singlet and triplet phenylnitrene as transient intermediates, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 1986, 108, 3783–3790.
T. Liang and G. Schuster, Photochemistry of 3- and 4-nitrophenyl azide: detection and characterization of reactive intermediates, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 1987, 109, 7803–7810.
G. Schuster and M. Platz, Photochemistry of phenyl azide, Adv. Photochem., 1987, 17, 69–143.
M. Platz, Nitrenes, Wiley-Interscience, Hoboken, NJ, 2004, pp. 502–559.
J. Grimshaw, Photochemistry of Aryl Diazonium Salts, Triazoles and Tetrazoles, CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, 2003, pp. 44.1–44.31.
Y. Li, J. Kirby, M. George, M. Poliakoff and G. Schuster, 1,2-Didehydroazepines from the photolysis of substituted aryl azides: analysis of their chemical and physical properties by time-resolved spectroscopic methods, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 1988, 110, 8092–8098.
N. Gritsan, D. Tigelaar and M. Platz, A laser flash photolysis study of some simple para-substituted derivatives of singlet phenyl nitrene, J. Phys. Chem. A, 1999, 103, 4465–4469.
T. Liang and G. Schuster, Photochemistry of p-nitrophenyl azide: single-electron-transfer reaction of the triplet nitrene, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 1986, 108, 546–548.
Thiols are known to be excellent hydrogen atom donors towards a wide range of reactive intermediates: (a) S. Carroll, B. Nay, E. Scriven, H. Suschitzky and D. Thomas, Decomposition of aromatic azides in ethanethiol, Tetrahedron Lett., 1977, 18, 3175–3178.
S. Carroll, B. Nay, E. Scriven and H. Suschitzky, Decomposition of arylazides in piperidine, Tetrahedron Lett., 1977, 18, 943–946.
E. Leyva and M. Platz, The temperature dependent photochemistry of phenyl azide in diethylamine, Tetrahedron Lett., 1985, 26, 2147–2150.
H. Lund and O. Hammerich, Organic Electrochemistry, Marcel Dekker, Inc., New York, 4th edn., 2001.
A. Adamson, Substitutiion Reactions of Reinecke’s Salt, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 1958, 80, 3183–3189.
E. Wegner and A. Adamson, Photochemistry of complex ions. III. Absolute quantum yields for the photolyis of some aqueous chromium(iii) complexes. Chemical actinometry in the long wavelength visible region, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 1966, 88, 394–404.
S. Murov, I. Carmichael and G. Hug, Handbook of Photochemistry, Marcel Dekker, Inc., New York, 2nd edn., 1993.
This observation is reminiscent of the lack of substituent effects on the rate of rearrangement reported by Gritsan et al., in ref. 15.
T. Dannhauser, M. O’Neil, K. Johansson, D. Whitten and G. McLendon, Photophysics of quantized colloidal semiconductors dramatic luminescence enhancement by binding of simple amines, J. Phys. Chem., 1986, 90, 6074–6076.
L. Spanhel, M. Haase, H. Weller and A. Henglein, Photochemistry of Colloidal Seminconductors. 20. Surface Modification and stability of strong luminescing CdS particles, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 1987, 109, 5649–5666.
P. Kamat, M. de Lind Van Wijngaarden and S. Hotchandani, Surface modification of CdS colloids with mercaptoethylamine, Isr. J. Chem., 1993, 33, 47–51.
Y. Nosaka and M. Fox, Effect of charge of polymeric stabilizing agents on the quantum yields of photoinduced electron transfer from photoexcited colloidal semiconductors to adsorbed viologens, Langmuir, 1987, 3, 1147–1150.
T. Rajh and J. Rabani, Effects of charged polymers on interfacial electron transfer processes in CdS colloidal systems, Langmuir, 1991, 7, 2054–2059.
H. Inoue, R. Nakamura and H. Yoneyama, Effect of charged conditions of stabilizers for cadmium sulfide microcrystalline photocatalysts on photoreduction of carbon dioxide, Chem. Lett., 1994, 1227–1230.
U. Resch, A. Eychmuller, M. Haase and H. Weller, Absorption and fluorescence behavior of redispersible cadmium sulfide colloids in various organic solvents, Langmuir, 1992, 8, 2215–2218.
L. Colvin, A. Goldstein and A. Alivisatos, Semiconductor nanocrystals covalently bound to metal surfaces with self-assembled monolayers, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 1992, 114, 5221–5230.
P. Kamat and N. Dimitrijevic, Photoelectrochemistry in semiconductor particulate systems. 13. Surface modification of cadmium sulfide semiconductor colloids with diethyldithiocarbamate, J. Phys. Chem., 1989, 93, 4259–4263.
T. Uchihara, M. Matsumura, J. Ono and H. Tsubomura, Effect of EDTA on the photocatalytic activities and flatband potentials of cadmium sulfide and cadmium selenide, J. Phys. Chem., 1990, 94, 415–418.
R. Rossetti and L. Brus, Picosecond resonance Raman scattering study of methylviologen reduction on the surface of photoexcited colloidal cadmium sulfide crystallites, J. Phys. Chem., 1986, 90, 558–560.
R. Matthews, An adsorption water purifier with in situ photocatalytic regeneration, J. Catal., 1988, 113, 549–555.
N. Lewis, An analysis of charge transfer rate constants for semiconductor/liquid interfaces, Annu. Rev. Phys. Chem., 1991, 42, 543–580.
J. Zhang, Interfacial charge carrier dynamics of colloidal semiconductor nanoparticles, J. Phys. Chem. B, 2000, 104, 7239–7253.
D. Amantini, F. Pizzo and L. Vaccaro, Selected methods for the reduction of the azido group, Org. Prep. Proced. Int., 2002, 34, 109–147.
M. B. Baizer, Organic Electrochemistry, Marcel Dekker, New York, 1973.
Encyclopedia of Electrochemistry of the Elements, ed. P. E. Iversen, Marcel Dekker, New York, 1979, vol. XIII, p. 209.
D. Herbranson and M. Hawley, Electrochemical reduction of p-nitrophenyl azide: evidence consistent with the formation of p-nitrophenylnitrene anion radical as a short-lived intermediate, J. Org. Chem., 1990, 55, 4297–4303.
J. Moutet, A. Ourari and A. Zouaoui, Electrocatalytic hydrogenation of azides using precious metal microparticles dispersed in polymer films, Electrochim. Acta, 1992, 37, 1261–1263.
When methanol is used as a co-solvent for photocatalysis it can act as an electron donor. See ref. 4(c).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: The preparation of CdS and CdSe nanoparticles, the synthesis of aromatic azides, procedures for the photocatalyzed reduction of aromatic azides, and procedures for the quantum yield measurements. See http://www.rsc.org/suppdata/pp/b4/b404268a/
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Warrier, M., Lo, M.K.F., Monbouquette, H. et al. Photocatalytic reduction of aromatic azides to amines using CdS and CdSe nanoparticles. Photochem Photobiol Sci 3, 859–863 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1039/b404268a
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/b404268a