A TiO2 immobilized Ru(ii) polyazine complex: a visible-light active photoredox catalyst for oxidative cyanation of tertiary amines

A chemically functionalized nanocrystalline TiO2 grafted ruthenium(II) polyazine complex was found to be an efficient visible light photoredox catalyst for the oxidative cyanation of tertiary amines to the corresponding α-aminonitriles in high to excellent yields, using molecular oxygen as an oxidant and sodium cyanide in acetic acid as a cyanide source. The developed photoredox catalyst could be easily recovered by simple filtration and reused for several runs with consistent catalytic activity.