Mononuclear indium(iii) photosensitizers for photo-dehalogenation and olefin reduction

Abstract

Photoactive main-group complexes have been relatively underexplored in photocatalytic applications. Herein, we report a family of indium(III) complexes (In-1–In-4) containing pyridylpyrrolide ligands with different amounts of methyl groups, which all exhibit intense visible-light absorption as well as blue-green emission with nanosecond emission lifetimes and emission quantum yields of 6.7–12.5%. Electrochemical studies and quantum chemical calculations indicate that their (photo-)redox processes involve only ligand-centered events, which efficiently mediate photocatalytic dehalogenation and olefin reduction.