Renqian Zhou, Arunachalam Sagadevan, Wentao Wu, Sultan Al Saud, Bholanath Maity, Liang Yi, Mohammad Bodiuzzaman, Kathiravan Murugesan, Mengtian Jin, Yu-Ying Yang, Peng Yuan, Lijie Wang, Mohammed Faihan Alotaibi, Abdul-Hamid Emwas, Mutalifu Abulikemu, Omar F Mohammed, Luigi Cavallo, Magnus Rueping, Osman M Bakr
Copper-based catalysts exhibit high versatility in organic synthesis. However, their practical utility is often constrained by the limited stability and sensitivity to reaction conditions. In this study, we report a μ3-η1-S-bridged nanocluster (NC), Cu3(DPPM)3S(BF4) (Cu3S, DPPM = Bis(diphenylphosphino)methane), that displays exceptional air stability and catalytic robustness due to its strong Cu-S coordination and rigid trigonal symmetry structure. Enabled by its structural stability and excellent photophysical properties, the Cu3S NC functions as an efficient photocatalyst for the three-component coupling reaction of alkyl halides, amines, and alkenes under open-air, room-temperature conditions. The catalyst displays high turnover numbers, broad functional group tolerance, and excellent recyclability over multiple cycles. Our findings establish structurally well-defined low-nuclearity NCs as versatile and durable catalysts for multicomponent C-N/C-C bond-forming transformations and reveal structural rigidity as a key design principle for achieving catalytic stability.