One-Pot Highly Efficient Synthesis of N-Enrich Graphene Quantum Dots as a Photocatalytic Platform for NAD+/NADP+ Reduction.

An efficient photocatalytic regeneration of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) has been carried out by two-electron reduction and protonation of NAD /NADP , induced by photons in the visible light region. This functional artificial photosynthetic counterpart of the complete energy-trapping occurring in natural photosystem I (PS I) is achieved with nitrogen-enrich graphene quantum dot (N-EGQD) as the light-harvesting photocatalyst. In buffer aqueous solution, this compound photo catalytically recycles a rhodium hydride complex of the type [Cp*Rh(bpy)H] (Cp* = pentamethylcyclopentadienyl, bpy = 2,2'-bipyridine) which can mediate hydride transfer processes leading to nucleotide co-factor reduction.