CdS Quantum Dots for Metallaphotoredox-Enabled Cross-Electrophile Coupling of Aryl Halides with Alkyl Halides

Semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) offer many advantagesas photocatalystsfor synthetic photoredox catalysis, but no reports have explored theuse of QDs with nickel catalysts for C-C bond formation. Weshow here that 5.7 nm CdS QDs are robust photocatalysts for photoredox-promotedcross-electrophile coupling (turnover number (TON) up to 40,000).These conditions can be utilized on a small scale (96-well plate)or adapted to flow. NMR studies show that triethanolamine (TEOA)-cappedQDs are the active catalyst and that TEOA can displace native phosphonateand carboxylate ligands, demonstrating the importance of the QD surfacechemistry.