Enantioselective Synthesis of Amino Acids by Photocatalytic Reduction of CO2 on Chiral Mesostructured ZnS

Enantioselective Synthesis of Amino Acids by Photocatalytic Reduction of CO2 on Chiral Mesostructured ZnS | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Physical Sciences - Article Enantioselective Synthesis of Amino Acids by Photocatalytic Reduction of CO 2 on Chiral Mesostructured ZnS Shunai Che, Yongping Cui, Jing Ai, Lu Han, Yingying Duan, Junhong Liu, and 8 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-3576840/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The diverse products resulting from CO2 reduction and fixation via solar energy in natural systems spans from small molecules to biomolecules. So far, only a few multicarbon species have been obtained by artificial CO2 photoreduction1-5, especially abiotic photosynthesis of biomolecules with various functional groups has long been a fundamental yet challenging issue. Herein, we report the photocatalytic synthesis of amino acids from CO2 and NH3 on a chiral mesostructured ZnS (CMZ) nanosphere constructed by arrays of chiral nanorods. Serine (Ser), with an enantiomeric excess (ee) greater than 96% is the main component of various amino acids with a total yield of over 30 μmol gcat -1. The experimental data showed that C-C coupling allows the reaction access to the Ser formation pathway through *OCCO intermediates. Chiral induced spin polarization of CMZ has been speculated to facilitate the separation of photogenerated carriers and production of stable triplet OCCO. Different activation energies of reduction reactions driven by the spin-polarized electrons in CMZ would lead to the formation of enantiomeric amino acids. Our findings would inspire new perspectives in catalytic theory and the formation of chiral biomolecules in both artificial synthesis and nature. Physical sciences/Chemistry/Catalysis/Photocatalysis Physical sciences/Nanoscience and technology/Nanoscale materials/Electronic properties and materials Physical sciences/Energy science and technology/Carbon capture and storage Physical sciences/Chemistry/Catalysis/Asymmetric catalysis Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files CYPSI.pdf Supplementary Information Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-3576840","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Physical Sciences - Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":252251688,"identity":"bce49771-e27b-407d-96a6-2cd54945a8a2","order_by":0,"name":"Shunai 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