Robust Cooperative Photo-oxidation of Sulfides without Sacrificial Reagent under Air Using a Dinuclear RuII -CuII Assembly.

A molecular chromophore-catalyst assembly containing a chromophore ruthenium(II) center (RuIIchro ) and a catalytic copper(II) center (CuIIcat ) has been prepared easily. The assembly was employed for photocatalytic oxidation of sulfides without sacrificial reagent in the presence of dioxygen under blue light irradiation. Unprecedented turnover number (TON) up to 32 000 was achieved. It was elucidated that an electron transferred from excited state of chromophore RuII*chro to CuIIcat along with generation of CuIcat that was further activated by O2 . These results demonstrate a promising strategy for efficient cooperative photocatalytic reactions under air using the chromophore-catalyst assembly.