Ligand Influence on the Performance of Cesium Lead Bromide Perovskite Quantum Dots in Photocatalytic C(sp³)–H Bromination Reactions

Lead halide perovskite quantum dots (LHP QDs) CsPbX₃ generate immense interest as narrow-band emitters for displays, lasers, and quantum light sources. All QD applications rely on suited engineering of surface capping ligands. The first generation of LHP QDs employed oleic acid/oleyl amine capping and have found only a limited use in photoredox catalysis. These catalysts have been reported to be unstable and decompose over the course of the reaction, thus reducing turnover numbers (TONs) and limiting their synthetic ability. Herein, the impact of eight distinct surface ligands on monodisperse CsPbBr₃ QDs is reported, affording a thorough comprehension of their performance in photocatalytic C-H brominations. These efforts yielded QDs operating at extremely low catalyst loadings (<100 ppb) with TONs over 9,000,000 per LHP QD. We emphasize that the optimal catalytic performance requires increased QD surface accessibility without compromising the QD structural and colloidal integrity. Control experiments indicated that well-known photoredox catalysts such as Ir(ppy)₃, Ru(bpy)₃Cl₂, or 4CzlPN are ineffective in the same reaction. Mechanistic studies reveal that the C-Br bond reduction in CH₂Br₂ is the rate-limiting step and is likely facilitated through interaction with the CsPbBr₃ QD surface. This work outlines a holistic approach toward the design of practically useful photocatalysts out of QDs comprising structurally soft QD cores and dynamically bound capping ligands.