Light-driven C-H bond activation mediated by 2D transition metal dichalcogenides

Abstract C-H bond activation enables the facile synthesis of new chemicals. While C-H activation in short-chain alkanes has been widely investigated, it remains largely unexplored for long-chain organic molecules. Here, we report light-driven C-H activation in complex organic materials mediated by 2D transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) and the resultant solid-state synthesis of luminescent carbon dots in a spatially resolved fashion. Through the first-principle calculations, we unravel that the defects and oxidized states in 2D TMDCs lead to efficient C-H activation and chemical reaction. Furthermore, we exploit the light-controlled “point-and-shoot” chemical reaction for versatile carbon dot patterning and optical encoding of encrypted information. Our results will shed light on 2D materials for C-H activation in a variety of organic compounds for applications in organic chemistry, photonic materials, and environmental remediation.