Driving Click Reactions with Plasmonic Hot Holes on (Au Core)@(Cu₂O Shell) Nanostructures for Regioselective Production of 1,2,3-Triazoles

Driving organic reactions by heterogeneous photocatalysts is highly desired in green chemistry. (Plasmonic metal)/semiconductor heterostructures can greatly increase the photocatalytic activity by virtue of effective plasmonic harvesting of sunlight. Herein, we report on the driving of click reactions using (plasmonic Au nanosphere core)@(Cu2O shell) nanostructures under near-infrared light illumination. Upon plasmon excitation, the hybrid nanostructures exhibit excellent catalytic performance for the regioselective production of 1,2,3-triazoles. The yields of the click reactions under light illumination are about two times those of the reactions under sole thermal heating at the same temperatures. The reduced reaction yields in the presence of methanol, a hole scavenging agent, suggest that the plasmonic hot holes play a crucial role in the click reactions. Our results and the gained understanding will be valuable for the design of high-performance plasmonic photocatalysts for different regioselective organic reactions.