Photocatalytic Synthesis of Glycine from Methanol and Nitrate

Photocatalytic utilization of methanol and nitrate as carbon and nitrogen sources for the direct synthesis of amino acids could provide a sustainable way for the valorization of green "liquid sunlight" and nitrate waste. In this study, we develop an efficient photochemical method to synthesize glycine directly from methanol and nitrate, which cascades the C-C coupling to form glycol, nitrate reduction to NH₃, and finally C-N coupling to generate glycine. Interestingly, the involved photocatalytic tandem reactions show a synergistic effect, in which the presence of nitrate is the dominant factor to enable the overall reaction and reach high synthetic efficiency. Ba²⁺-TiO₂ nanoparticles are confirmed as a feasible and efficient catalyst system for the photosynthesis of glycine with a remarkable glycine photosynthesis rate of 870 μmol g_cat ^-1 h^-1 under optimal conditions. This work establishes a novel catalytic system for amino acid synthesis from methanol and nitrate under mild conditions. These results also allow us to further suppose the formation pathways of amino acids on the primitive earth, as an extension to proposals based on the Miller-Urey experiments.