Unit D
Catalysis with electronically activated molecules

The central objective is to drive or control challenging chemical processes via the electronic excitation of molecules that are otherwise unfavorable under ambient reaction conditions. Electronic excitation will be achieved by light absorption or cathodic electron injection for selective transformations of substrates into value-added chemicals.

There, we will develop photo(electro)catalytic reactions in non-aqueous environments inspired by Unit B, to enable the reduction of challenging element-organic substrates containing stable E=O (e.g., P=O) and E-O bonds (e.g., Si-O). In this way, we aim to re-activate functional compounds which are key building blocks for various chemical transformations.

The efforts to identify similarities between coupling mechanisms and those of light-driven and light-controlled biocatalytic systems interconnect D with Units B and E.