Construction of dye-supported fret nanofiber catalysts for photocatalytic Cross-Dehydrogenative coupling reactions

Phloxine B (PHB) demonstrates strong catalytic performance in cross-dehydrogenative coupling (CDC) reactions, yet its light-harvesting efficiency remains limited. Dye-supported nanofiber photocatalysts were developed via electrospinning, integrating polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), polydimethyldiallyl ammonium chloride (PDADMAC), and the Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) pair: AY184 (donor) and PHB (acceptor). Four strategies—electrospinning-adsorption, blending-electrospinning, co-electrospinning from a single nozzle, and co-electrospinning from separate nozzles—were explored to optimize dye distribution and FRET efficiency. Among the synthesized nanofibers, the NF-TZ, co-electrospun from a single nozzle, showed the highest FRET efficiency at 59 %. The blended-electrospinning nanofibers (NF-GH) exhibited exceptional catalytic activity, achieving nearly 90 % conversion of N-phenyltetrahydroisoquinoline (N-phenyl-THIQ) within 4 hours under the visible light (1 W), and the reaction rate constant is 1.8-fold faster than that for fiber with PHB alone. For NF-GH, the conversion of N-phenyl-THIQ retained to 85 % with reused 7 times, demonstrating robust recyclability and photostability. This finding provides new insight into the construction of recyclable FRET-enhanced photocatalysts with broad spectral response and high energy conversion efficiency for organic photochemical reactions.