Highly efficient perylene-based polymer photocatalyst/biocatalyst systems for l-glutamate production under solar light

Abstract

The selective production of fine chemicals using inexpensive solar light continues to be a challenge. As a means to achieve this we report herein the synthesis and development of a perylene-based solar-light-driven photocatalyst (PDA–DAA) obtained by the covalent bonding of perylene tetracarboxylic dianhydride (PDA) with a 2,6-diamino-anthraquinone (DAA) molecule. The photocatalyst/biocatalyst coupled system developed using PDA–DAA as a photocatalyst functions in a highly efficient manner, leading to high NADH regeneration (80.12%), followed by its consumption in exclusive production of l-glutamate (94.16%) from α-ketoglutarate. The present research highlights the development and application of the PDA–DAA photocatalyst for direct formation of l-glutamate under solar light.