Abstract: We have investigated the photo-induced reduction of Cu2+-Cu0 using benzil/triethylamine mixtures. The formation of elemental Cu is indicated by the appearance of its characteristic plasmon absorption peaks at 515 nm and 620 nm. Importantly, the nature of the counterion of the Cu2+ salt affects the reduction process. In the presence of Cl-, the reduction proceeds faster than with SO42-. Photo-induced electron transfer between excited benzil and triethylamine leads to the benzil radical anion, which acts as the reducing agent for Cu2+ and generates Cu0.
Keywords: Metal reduction; Photo-induced electron transfer; Radicals; Spectroscopy.