China-U.S. cooperation in research to achieve photo catalytic carbon dioxide synthesis amino acids

Nature uses sunlight to convert carbon dioxide and water into organic compounds that power almost all living things. Amino acids are the basic components of protein, the human body needs to consume a large number of amino acids every day to maintain life. Reporter 4 from Nanjing University of Technology was informed that the university's Xinyuan task force and the United States University of Pennsylvania Professor Patrick Walsh, the realization of the use of sunlight to drive carbon dioxide chemical transformation, and then synthesis of α-amino acids
China
. The results are published in the latest issue of nature Newsletter, an authoritative international journal.
have long tried to emulate nature and explore ways to convert carbon dioxide into organic compounds using light energy, " he said. But the stability of carbon dioxide itself makes these attempts challenging. Walsh introduced.
researchers to study the chemical properties of subamines under visible light catalysis. They found that the subamine, which would have broken down in water, had an unexpected reduction reaction using water as a raw material under phototalytic conditions. Further research reveals that because subamines are chemically reversed under certain phototalytic conditions, protons can be extracted from water to achieve a reduction reaction to water-based subamines. As a result of this reversal of the chemical process, they soon realized a coupled chemical reaction between subamines and aldehyde compounds to synthesize hydroxyamines.
, they successfully solved the chemical reaction problems of visible light-catalyzed carbon dioxide and subamines, and developed an easy way to use sunlight to drive the chemical transformation of carbon dioxide and then synthesize α-amino acids. The method has mild reaction conditions, can be carried out at room temperature, no high-pressure gas is required, special instruments such as autoclave are avoided, and the operation is simple, the target product can be obtained by simply filtering, and the reaction process also consumes greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide. These advantages make this method green and have high practicality and broad application prospects.