The Hexachlorocerate(III) Anion: A Potent, Benchtop Stable, and Readily Available Ultraviolet A Photosensitizer for Aryl Chlorides

The hexachlorocerate(III) anion, [CeIIICl6]3–, was found to be a potent photoreductant in acetonitrile solution with an estimated excited-state reduction potential of −3.45 V versus Cp2Fe0/+. Despite a short lifetime of 22.1(1) ns, the anion exhibited a photoluminescence quantum yield of 0.61(4) and fast quenching kinetics toward organohalogens allowing for its application in the photocatalytic reduction of aryl chloride substrates.