Light-driven, heterogeneous organocatalysts for C-C bond formation toward valuable perfluoroalkylated intermediates.

The favorable exploitation of carbon nitride (CN) materials in photocatalysis for organic synthesis requires the appropriate fine-tuning of the CN structure. Here, we present a deep investigation of the structure/activity relationship of CN in the photocatalytic perfluoroalkylation of organic compounds. Four types of CN bearing subtle structural differences were studied via conventional characterization techniques and innovative nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experiments, correlating the different structures with the fundamental mechanistic nexus and especially highlighting the importance of the halogen bond strength between the reagent and the catalyst surface.