Visible-light-driven graphene supported Cu/Pd alloy nanoparticle-catalyzed borylation of alkyl bromides and chlorides in air

Abstract

A highly efficient photocatalytic protocol for borylation of alkyl bromides and chlorides with graphene supported Cu/Pd alloy nanoparticles as a heterogeneous catalyst is reported. This photocatalytic system operates with visible light in air, providing a wide range of primary and secondary alkyl halides with B2pin2 or B2neop2 in high yields at low temperatures, thereby demonstrating its broad utility and functional group tolerance. The high performance is attributed to a synergistic effect of localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) of Cu and charge transfer from Cu to Pd due to the alloy surface charge heterogeneity. Transfer of energetic electrons from Pd to electrophilic alkyl halides lead to the formation of the alkyl radicals, which quickly react with a nucleophilic adduct of a diboron compound with base adsorbed on the positively charged Cu sites to form the corresponding borylation product.