{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,30]],"date-time":"2026-07-30T11:10:12Z","timestamp":1785409812316,"version":"3.56.0"},"reference-count":46,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"13","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,7]],"date-time":"2026-07-07T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1783382400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"High-level Talents Program of Xi\u2019an International University","award":["XAIU202536"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["XAIU202536"]}]},{"award":["XAIU202536"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["XAIU202536"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/02w30qy89","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"Xi\u2019an Association for Science and Technology of Young Elite Scientists Sponsorship Program","award":["0959202513172"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["0959202513172"]}]},{"award":["0959202513172"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["0959202513172"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/00wvavs63","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Nanomaterials"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Developing earth-abundant photocatalysts that operate efficiently under visible light remains a central challenge in sustainable aerobic oxidation chemistry. We synthesized a binuclear cobalt(II) structure (Co2) in which two redox-active metal centers are bridged by a polypyridine scaffold to integrate light-harvesting and catalytic functions within a single low-nuclearity unit. The complex exhibits a strong absorption band below 450 nm, undergoes facile charge separation upon photoexcitation, and channels molecular oxygen (O2) toward superoxide radical anion (O2\u2022\u2013) under blue-light irradiation. Spectroscopic and mechanistic studies indicate that the polypyridine framework governs photon capture and excited-state delocalization, whereas the proximal Co(II) sites mediate the subsequent single-electron transfer to O2. Driven by this dual-site synergy, Co2 selectively oxidizes a broad scope of thioethers to the corresponding sulfoxides in yields exceeding 95%, with no over-oxidation to sulfones detected. The catalyst retains its structural integrity over five successive runs without measurable activity loss. By confining complementary photophysical and redox functions within a discrete bimetallic unit, this work establishes a design strategy for noble-metal-free, visible-light-driven organic transformations.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/nano16130835","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,9]],"date-time":"2026-07-09T16:16:44Z","timestamp":1783613804000},"page":"835","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Blue-Light-Driven Aerobic Oxidation via ROS-Generating Binuclear Cobalt(II) Complex Photocatalyst"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"16","author":[{"given":"Yuhao","family":"Mu","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Engineering, Xi\u2019an International University, Xi\u2019an 710077, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zhuang","family":"Miao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Engineering, Xi\u2019an International University, Xi\u2019an 710077, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0003-3334-4037","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Rong","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Engineering, Xi\u2019an International University, Xi\u2019an 710077, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8371-7290","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Xiong-Feng","family":"Ma","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Engineering, Xi\u2019an International University, Xi\u2019an 710077, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8779-3239","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Zhipeng","family":"Xie","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Chemistry, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, New Territories, Hong Kong 999077, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,7]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"5102","DOI":"10.1039\/D5EN00657K","article-title":"Engineering MOF-based homojunction photocatalysts for sustainable energy and environment","volume":"12","author":"Mei","year":"2025","journal-title":"Environ. 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