Background Interest in photochemical synthesis has been motivated in part by the realization that sunlight is effectively an inexhaustible energy source.Chemists have also long recognized distinctive patterns of reactivity that are uniquely accessible via photochemical activation. However, most simple organic molecules absorb only ultraviolet (UV) light and cannot be activated by the visible wavelengths that comprise most of the solar energy that reaches Earth’s surface. Consequently, organic photochemistry has generally required the use of UV light sources. Visible light photocatalysis. ( A ) Transition metal photocatalysts, such as Ru(bpy) 3 2+ , readily absorb visible light to access reactive excited states. ( B ) Photoexcited Ru*(bpy) 3 2+ can act as an electron shuttle, interacting with sacrificial electron donors D (path i) or acceptors A (path ii) to yield either a strongly reducing or oxidizing catalyst toward organic substrates S. Ru*(bpy) 3 2+ can also directly transfer energy to an organic substrate to yield electronically excited species (path iii). bpy, 2,29-bipyridine; MLCT, metal-to-ligand charge transfer. Advances Over the past several years, there has been a resurgence of interest in synthetic photochemistry, based on the recognition that the transition metal chromophores that have been so productively exploited in the design of technologies for solar energy conversion can also convert visible light energy into useful chemical potential for synthetic purposes. Visible light enables productive photoreactions of compounds possessing weak bonds that are sensitive toward UV photodegradation. Furthermore, visible light photoreactions can be conducted by using essentially any source of white light, including sunlight, which obviates the need for specialized UV photoreactors. This feature has expanded the accessibility of photochemical reactions to a broader range of synthetic organic chemists. A variety of reaction types have now been shown to be amenable to visible light photocatalysis via photoinduced electron transfer to or from the transition metal chromophore, as well as energy-transfer processes. The predictable reactivity of the intermediates generated and the tolerance of the reaction conditions to a wide range of functional groups have enabled the application of these reactions to the synthesis of increasingly complex target molecules. Outlook This general strategy for the use of visible light in organic synthesis is already being adopted by a growing community of synthetic chemists. Much of the current research in this emerging area is geared toward the discovery of photochemical solutions for increasingly ambitious synthetic goals. Visible light photocatalysis is also attracting the attention of researchers in chemical biology, materials science, and drug discovery, who recognize that these reactions offer opportunities for innovation in areas beyond traditional organic synthesis. The long-term goals of this emerging area are to continue to improve efficiency and synthetic utility and to realize the long-standing goal of performing chemical synthesis using the sun.

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Solar Synthesis: Prospects in Visible Light Photocatalysis

In recent years, photoredox catalysis has come to the forefront in organic chemistry as a powerful strategy for the activation of small molecules. In a general sense, these approaches rely on the ability of metal complexes and organic dyes to convert visible light into chemical energy by engaging in single-electron transfer with organic substrates, thereby generating reactive intermediates. In this Perspective, we highlight the unique ability of photoredox catalysis to expedite the development of completely new reaction mechanisms, with particular emphasis placed on multicatalytic strategies that enable the construction of challenging carbon–carbon and carbon–heteroatom bonds.

http://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/acs.joc.6b01449

Photoredox Catalysis in Organic Chemistry

The interaction between an electronically excited photocatalyst and an organic molecule can result in the genertion of a diverse array of reactive intermediates that can be manipulated in a variety of ways to result in synthetically useful bond constructions. This Review summarizes dual-catalyst strategies that have been applied to synthetic photochemistry. Mechanistically distinct modes of photocatalysis are discussed, including photoinduced electron transfer, hydrogen atom transfer, and energy transfer. We focus upon the cooperative interactions of photocatalysts with redox mediators, Lewis and Bronsted acids, organocatalysts, enzymes, and transition metal complexes.

http://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/acs.chemrev.6b00018

Dual Catalysis Strategies in Photochemical Synthesis

Complete Field Guide to Asymmetric BINOL-Phosphate Derived Brønsted Acid and Metal Catalysis: History and Classification by Mode of Activation; Brønsted Acidity, Hydrogen Bonding, Ion Pairing, and Metal Phosphates

The merger of transition metal catalysis and photocatalysis, termed metallaphotocatalysis, has recently emerged as a versatile platform for the development of new, highly enabling synthetic methodologies. Photoredox catalysis provides access to reactive radical species under mild conditions from abundant, native functional groups, and, when combined with transition metal catalysis, this feature allows direct coupling of non-traditional nucleophile partners. In addition, photocatalysis can aid fundamental organometallic steps through modulation of the oxidation state of transition metal complexes or through energy-transfer-mediated excitation of intermediate catalytic species. Metallaphotocatalysis provides access to distinct activation modes, which are complementary to those traditionally used in the field of transition metal catalysis, thereby enabling reaction development through entirely new mechanistic paradigms. This Review discusses key advances in the field of metallaphotocatalysis over the past decade and demonstrates how the unique mechanistic features permit challenging, or previously elusive, transformations to be accomplished. Transition metal catalysis is well established as an enabling tool in synthetic organic chemistry. Photoredox catalysis has recently emerged as a method to effect reactions that occur through single-electron-transfer pathways. Here we review the combination of the two to show how this provides access to highly reactive oxidation states of transition metals and distinct activation modes that further enable the synthetic chemist.

The merger of transition metal and photocatalysis

Photochemical reactions contribute in a significant way to the existing repertoire of carbon-carbon bond-forming reactions by allowing access to exceptional molecular structures that cannot be obtained by conventional means. In this Review, the most important photochemical transformations that have been employed in natural product synthesis are presented. Selected total syntheses are discussed as examples, with particular attention given to the photochemical key step and its stereoselectivity. The structural relationship between the photochemically generated molecule and the natural product is shown, and, where necessary, the consecutive reactions in the synthesis are illustrated and classified.

Photochemical reactions as key steps in natural product synthesis

This report describes the development of an enantioselective C–N bond-forming reaction to produce 1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinoline-derived cyclic aminals catalyzed by chiral phosphate anions. Central to the success of this goal was the design of a library of 3,3′-triazolyl BINOL-derived phosphoric acids capable of forming attractive hydrogen-bonding interactions with the peptide-like substrate. We envision this work will offer an alternative to the conventional strategy of increasing catalyst steric bulk to improve enantioselectivity with BINOL-derived phosphoric acids.

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Asymmetric cross-dehydrogenative coupling enabled by the design and application of chiral triazole-containing phosphoric acids.

Photochemische Reaktionen bereichern in signifikanter Weise das Repertoire zur Knupfung von Kohlenstoff-Kohlenstoff-Bindungen und machen ungewohnliche, auf herkommlichem Weg nicht erhaltliche Molekulgeruste zuganglich. In diesem Aufsatz werden die wichtigsten Umsetzungen der Photochemie vorgestellt, die auf breiter Front Einzug in die Naturstoffsynthese gehalten haben. Beispielhaft werden einzelne Totalsynthesen diskutiert, wobei besonderes Augenmerk auf den photochemischen Schlusselschritt sowie dessen Stereoselektivitat gerichtet ist. Dabei wird das photochemisch erzeugte Molekul in Relation zur Struktur des Naturstoffs gebracht, und Folgereaktionen werden, wo notwendig, illustriert und klassifiziert.

Photochemische Reaktionen als Schlüsselschritte in der Naturstoffsynthese

Formation of a Four‐Membered Ring: From a Carbonyl‐Conjugated Alkene

Reactions of Sn(NMe2)2 with Alkali-Metal tert-Butylphosphides tBuPHM (M = Li, Na, K): Evidence for Metal-Induced Modification of the Tin(II) Phosphinidene Anions

Jörg P. Hehn

Papers

Photochemical reactions as key steps in natural product synthesis

Asymmetric cross-dehydrogenative coupling enabled by the design and application of chiral triazole-containing phosphoric acids.

Photochemische Reaktionen als Schlüsselschritte in der Naturstoffsynthese

Formation of a Four‐Membered Ring: From a Carbonyl‐Conjugated Alkene

Reactions of Sn(NMe2)2 with Alkali-Metal tert-Butylphosphides tBuPHM (M = Li, Na, K): Evidence for Metal-Induced Modification of the Tin(II) Phosphinidene Anions