Nitrogen Radical Photocatalysed Reduction of Nitrous Oxide

Abstract

ABSTRACT Nitrous oxide (N 2 O) represents one of the most potent greenhouse gases, with a global warming potential of approximately 300× that of CO 2 . Yet protocols for its reduction to benign products such as dinitrogen (N 2 ) remain comparatively rare. In this study, we report a nitrogen‐based catalyst that enables the photochemical reduction of N 2 O to N 2 using pinacol borane as the reductant. Mechanistic investigations indicate that the active catalytic species operates via an unprecedented N(0)/N(–1) redox cycle. This work represents the first metal‐free homogeneous photocatalytic protocol for such a process.