Metal-free functionalized carbon nitride as a photocatalyst driven by sunlight for acetal synthesis and selective regeneration of NAD(P)H cofactor.

Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide Phosphate (NAD(P)H) plays an important role in numerous biologically significant redox reactions. The photochemical restoration of its oxidized form (NAD(P)⁺) under physiological conditions is intriguing in the context of integrated photo and catalysis. Herein, we report the functionalized graphitic carbon-based solar light active photocatalyst by doping boron and fluorine in the native graphitic carbon nitride (GCN) (nonfunctionalized) for the regeneration of enzymatically visible light active coenzyme and in photo-acetalization reactions. The metal-free functionalized photocatalyst systems such as BFGCN-x leads to higher yield NADH and NADPH regeneration. They are also capable of catalyzing acetal reactions in the absence of any Lewis and Bronsted acids. The current research endeavor provides the advancement and the application of functionalized GCN-based photocatalysts for NADH (61.89%), NADPH (59.84%) regeneration, and photo-acetalization reactions.