Visible light photoflow synthesis of a Cu(ii) single-chain polymer nanoparticle catalyst

Abstract

We herein pioneer the visible light (λ_max = 410 nm) mediated flow synthesis of catalytically active single-chain nanoparticles (SCNPs). Our design approach is based on a copolymer of poly(ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate and a photocleavable 2-((((2-nitrobenzyl)oxy)carbonyl)amino)ethyl methacrylate monomer which can liberate amine groups upon visible light irradiation, allowing for single-chain collapse via the complexation of Cu(II) ions. We initially demonstrate the successful applicability of our design approach for the batch photochemical synthesis of Cu(II) SCNPs and transfer the concept to photoflow conditions, enabling, for the first time, the continuous production of functional SCNPs. Critically, we explore their ability to function as a photocatalyst for the cleavage of carbon–carbon single and double bonds on the examples of xanthene-9-carboxylic acid and oleic acid, demonstrating the advantageous effect SCNPs can provide over analogous small molecule catalysts.