https://www.cas.cn/syky/202601/t20260129_5098933.shtml

https://www.nature.com/articles/s44160-025-00975-5

A team from the University of Science and Technology of China has developed a nano-photocatalytic synthesis route for N-heteroaromatics in heavy water via hydrogen-deuterium exchange. Under room temperature, atmospheric pressure, visible light irradiation, and inert gas conditions, the study investigated the green synthesis of kilogram-scale deuterated chemicals driven by an atomically dispersed palladium photocatalyst (Pd1/TiO2), using 2-aminopyrimidine as a model substrate.

In a series of scale-up experiments, approximately 40 g of deuterated product was obtained. By recycling heavy water, the molar ratio of D₂O to reactants in the entire synthesis system could be reduced to 19.7. Researchers constructed a reaction rack equipped with 30 250mL photoreactors indoors and scaled up the synthesis reaction on a large scale, ultimately separating and collecting 1.157 kg of deuterated products, demonstrating the good reliability and operability of the photocatalytic synthesis system.