Photothermal catalytic conversion of water and inert nitriles to amide activated by in-situ formed transition-metal-complex nanodots

Photothermal catalytic N-acetylation of aniline has been a promising strategy to synthesize amides, which combined the advantages of thermal catalysis and photocatalysis. Herein, we demonstrate a high-performance strategy to synthesize amides catalyzed by the in-situ formed first-row transition-metal (Fe, Co, Ni, Mn et al.) complexes nanodots (TMC NDs) under solar light excitation without using noble metals or strong acids. The dual-functional nitriles substrates acted as the ligands to coordinate with transition-metal salts affording photosensitive TMC NDs with high solar-to-thermal energy conversion efficiency. Intramolecular charge transitions reduced the energy barrier of nitriles activation by weakening CN bond and triggered near-field temperature rise via the electron–phonon scattering non-radiative pathway. The reaction system exhibited good tolerance to different functional groups, affording a series of amide derivatives. Such a dynamic coordination reaction mode and the in-situ formed TMC NDs opens new avenues toward solar-heat conversion via photon–phonon coupling in the field of chemical synthesis.