Revealing the photochemical pathways of BODIPY-ruthenium(II) Polypyridyl complexes: Synthesis, characterization, and Photooxidation behavior

Photocatalysis is a powerful strategy for synthetic chemistry to overcome synthetic challenges and enable the production of new materials. In order to develop more sustainable photocatalytic transformations and discover new reactivities, the preparation of new photocatalysts and investigation of their effects are of great importance. In this study, ruthenium(II) polypyridyl complexes were focused on due to their versatile coordination chemistry, efficient photochemical activities and potential for improvement of photooxidation processes. BODIPY-Ruthenium(II) polypyridyl complexes were synthesized using a straightforward synthetic route, followed by detailed characterizations using spectroscopic techniques. The complexes showed strong absorption in the range 506–546 nm, moderate emission in the range 518–570 nm and singlet oxygen quantum yield in the range 0.12–0.46. In the photooxidation reaction of 1,5-Dihydroxynaphthalene in which only 1 % of the complexes were used as photocatalysts, a conversion rate of up to 50 % was achieved within 10 min. Photochemical behaviors such as efficient singlet oxygen production and enhanced photooxidation activity pointed to potential applications of the complexes in chemical transformation reactions and environmental remediation. The results provide insights into the design and optimization of these complexes for future photochemical applications.