Photocatalytic Reduction of Artificial and Natural Nucleotide Co-factors with a Chlorophyll-Like Tin-Dihydroporphyrin Sensitizer

An efficient photocatalytic two-electron reduction and protonation of nicotine amide adenine dinucleotide (NAD(+)), as well as the synthetic nucleotide co-factor analogue N-benzyl-3-carbamoyl-pyridinium (BNAD(+)), powered by photons in the long-wavelength region of visible light (λirr > 610 nm), is demonstrated for the first time. This functional artificial photosynthetic counterpart of the complete energy-trapping and solar-to-fuel conversion primary processes occurring in natural photosystem I (PS I) is achieved with a robust water-soluble tin(IV) complex of meso-tetrakis(N-methylpyridinium)-chlorin acting as the light-harvesting sensitizer (threshold wavelength of λthr = 660 nm). In buffered aqueous solution, this chlorophyll-like compound photocatalytically recycles a rhodium hydride complex of the type [Cp*Rh(bpy)H](+), which is able to mediate regioselective hydride transfer processes. Different one- and two-electron donors are tested for the reductive quenching of the irradiated tin complex to initiate the secondary dark reactions leading to nucleotide co-factor reduction. Very promising conversion efficiencies, quantum yields, and excellent photosensitizer stabilities are observed. As an example of a catalytic dark reaction utilizing the reduction equivalents of accumulated NADH, an enzymatic process for the selective transformation of aldehydes with alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) coupled to the primary photoreactions of the system is also demonstrated. A tentative reaction mechanism for the transfer of two electrons and one proton from the reductively quenched tin chlorin sensitizer to the rhodium co-catalyst, acting as a reversible hydride carrier, is proposed.