Highly selective regeneration of 1,4-NADH enabled by a metal-free core-shell photocatalyst of resorcinol-formaldehyde resins@polyaniline under visible light

• Published in: Applied catalysis. B, Environmental Environmental, 2024-02, Vol.341, p.123290, Article 123290
• Main Authors: Zhou, Liang, Su, Zheng, Wang, Jia, Cai, Yannan, Ding, Ningkai, Wang, Lingzhi, Zhang, Jinlong, Liu, Yongdi, Lei, Juying
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Metal-free; NADH; Photocatalyst; Regeneration; Resorcinol-formaldehyde resins
• ISSN: 0926-3373; 1873-3883
• DOI: 10.1016/j.apcatb.2023.123290

Cofactors, including reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH), are involved in approximately 80 % of oxidoreductase-catalyzed reactions. However, NADH has not been widely used in the industrial production processes due to cost factors. In this work, we have designed a kind of metal-free core-shell photocatalyst with resorcinol-formaldehyde resin spheres as the core and polyaniline as the shell (RF@PANI) for the highly efficient and selective photocatalytic regeneration of 1,4-NADH (only 1,4-NADH has enzyme activity). It was demonstrated that the introduction of the carbonyl group and the sum of electronic effects made the C4 site of NAD+ a more electrophilic hydride transfer site rather than C6 and C2 in the RF@PANI system, leading to the high selectivity of NAD+ to 1,4-NADH. The discovery of this mechanism will guide the design of more efficient and highly selective catalysts to break through the cost limitations for the large-scale applications of NADH. [Display omitted] •Metal-free core-shell catalyst with resorcinol-formaldehyde resin spheres as core and polyaniline as shell was developed.•This photocatalyst enables highly selective and efficient regeneration of the coenzyme 1,4-NADH.•Introduction of carbonyl group and electronic effects enhanced electrophilic hydride transfer at the C4 site.•Induced imine and hydroxyl groups to form a fast "electron transport chain", efficiently separating electrons and holes.