Christoph Kerzig

All of your favorite metals included?

Breaking Kasha’s Rule to Enable Higher Reactivity in Photoredox Catalysis Nearly all photochemical transformations known to date follow Kasha’s rule, implying that reactions occur only from the lowest electronically excited state of a given spin multiplicity due to the fast...

We show how photoredox catalysis can bypass Kasha’s rule, enabling reactions from higher excited states.

This work, led by the exceptional @bjoernpfund.bsky.social, offers new insights into photochemical reactivity.

Published in JACS @jacs.acspublications.org

bit.ly/3IysmjX

The next masterpiece from Matthias focusing on Coulombic dyads as new #photocatalyst class has been accepted in ACIE. Higher quantum yields in red-light catalysis by adding an inexpensive salt to use #Os as efficiently as possible. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/... @labheinze.bsky.social

Two weeks left for completing the registration for the Molecules and Light 2025 conference in beautiful Poznań. Also abstract submission is still possible.
molecules_light2025.web.amu.edu.pl

Pushing the limit of triplet–triplet annihilation photon upconversion towards the UVC range Triplet–triplet annihilation photon upconversion (TTA-UC) provides a milder alternative to traditional UVB/UVC photochemistry. However, suitable sensitizer-annihilator pairs are scarce, in particular…

New Hot article from @ckerzig.bsky.social, @gloriusfrank.bsky.social and colleagues:

'Pushing the limit of triplet–triplet annihilation photon upconversion towards the UVC range' 🔥

#OpenAccess 🔓

One photon or two photons, that is the question. We discuss mechanistic challenges, pitfalls, and opportunities for future research in two-photon photocatalysis @angewandtechemie.bsky.social. Many thanks to first-authors Julian and Sophie.

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

Direct Observation of Triplet–Triplet Energy Transfer in DNA between Energy Donor and Acceptor C-Nucleotides Investigating the migration of excited-state energy in DNA is crucial for a deep understanding of protection mechanisms and light-induced DNA damage. While numerous reports focused on single electron transfer and Förster-type energy transfer in DNA, studies on the Dexter-type triplet–triplet energy transfer are scarce, in particular, those with direct detection of photoexcited triplet states. Herein, we present direct measurements of the distance-dependent triplet–triplet energy transfer rates through DNA by using transient absorption spectroscopy. This was achieved through the synthetic incorporation of thioxanthone as an energy donor and naphthalene as an energy acceptor into a DNA double strand at defined positions. The energy transfer rates strongly depend on the number of A-T base pairs (up to four) separating the energy donor from the energy acceptor. We observed a fast energy transfer rate with a time constant of 17 ns for the DNA sample in which the donor and acceptor are directly adjacent in the DNA. By analyzing two additional donor–acceptor distances, a steep exponential distance dependence with an attenuation factor of 1.15 Å–1 could be obtained. Our results demonstrate that DNA acts as a poor conductor of triplet energy when energy donors with triplet energies below 2.7 eV are used, complementing more indirect studies on sensitized DNA damage.

The last paper of Till's PhD has finally been accepted and is online in JACS Au
pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...
Insights into energy transfer in DNA through a fruitful collaboration with the Wagenknecht lab.

Sie sind Vorbilder für Nachwuchswissenschaftler:innen und prägen durch ihren herausragenden Einsatz in Forschung & Entwicklung den Innovationsstandort 🇩🇪 entscheidend mit: unsere Dozentenpreisträger:innen Corina Andronescu, @ckerzig.bsky.social & Golo Storch! www.vci.de/fonds/preise...

It was our pleasure. We really enjoyed working with the user-friendly instrument. Many thanks for developing the HARPIA-LIGHT system. Here is the link to the first paper containing measurements carried out with it: pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...

Can you #recyle your molecular #photocatalyst? Can you use #water in your #photocatalysis? Can you use #sunlight? Can undergrads prepare the photocatalyst on >12 g scale? Out now in Advanced Synthesis and Catalysis lmy.de/BgahY. Thanks to @dfg.de for funding.

Many thanks for your kind words. Highly appreciated!
It was also great to interact with you during the coffee break.

Our collaborative manuscript with the Wagenknecht lab (KIT) is finally online. Dexter energy transfer in DNA and its distance dependence has been observed using TA spectroscopy. #triplet #photochemistry

Our very own Matthias after presenting his results on Coulombic dyads. pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...
#proudPI #photochemistry

One month to go to the abstract submission deadline (24/03/25) for contributed talks at the 5th International #SolarFuels conference, which we're organising together with the @rsc.org in Newcastle, UK, this September.

#chemsky #photocatalysis

Danke Max

Vielen Dank, Mathias 😀

I feel deeply honored. Many thanks to my young team of highly motivated scientist, my mentors and the selection committee🙏🍾

Maybe you had to warm it up a bit to make it liquid. The melting point of Cs should be about 28 °C.

ICP2025 The 32nd International Conference on Photochemistry will take place from July 13 (Sunday) to July 18 (Friday), 2025 in Aachen (Germany). The event is jointly organized by the RWTH Aachen University…

Registration for the 32nd International Conference on Photochemistry is now open! Secure your spot at #ICP2025 and join us in Aachen for an exciting week of cutting-edge photochemistry.

Register now at 👉 www.icp2025.de

A nice molecule from the Heinze lab @labheinze.bsky.social is included as well 😉
#Mainz #Photochemistry

Many thanks to @hadlingtongroup.bsky.social @joshabbenseth.bsky.social Gabriele Hierlmeier and Frank Tambornino for highlighting our Coulombic dyad approach as a new trend.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

A must-read in the photoredox community. Great to see this from my former MSc student Björn in the @WengerOliver lab. Time flies.

Congrats Oliver and team! It seems that you reached the next level. The section "A More Holistic View of the Progress Made with Mo(0)" is very convincing and promising with future large-scale applications in mind.