Visible‐Light‐Driven Aza‐ortho‐quinone Methide Generation for the Synthesis of Indoles in a Multicomponent Reaction

A visible‐light‐driven radical‐mediated strategy for the in situ generation of aza‐ortho ‐quinone methides from 2‐vinyl‐substituted anilines and alkyl radical precursors is described. This process enables an efficient multicomponent reaction of 2‐vinylanilines, halides, and sulfur ylides, and has a wide substrate scope and good functional group tolerance. Treatment of the cycloaddition products with a base leads to densely functionalized indoles in a single‐flask operation.     

Visible‐Light‐Induced Carbo‐2‐pyridylation of Electron‐Deficient Alkenes with Pyridinium Salts

A simple and practical visible‐light‐induced carbo‐2‐pyridylation of electron‐deficient alkenes with readily available N‐benzoylmethylpyridinium bromides is reported. More than 40 examples are presented and proceed in greater than 80 % yield (on average) with excellent regio‐ and diastereoselectivities.     

Visible‐Light‐Induced Click Chemistry

A rapid and catalyst‐free cycloaddition system for visible‐light‐induced click chemistry is reported. A readily accessible photoreactive 2H‐azirine moiety was designed to absorb light at wavelengths above 400 nm. Irradiation with low‐energy light sources thus enables efficient small‐molecule synthesis with a diverse range of multiple‐bond‐containing compounds. Moreover, in order to demonstrate the efficiency of the current approach, quantitative ligation of the photoactivatable chromophore with functional polymeric substrates was performed and full conversion with irradiation times of only 1 min at ambient conditions was achieved. The current report thus presents a highly efficient method for applications involving selective cycloaddition to electron‐deficient multiple‐bond‐containing materials.     

Visible‐Light‐Induced [4+2] Annulation of Thiophenes and Alkynes to Construct Benzene Rings

The [4+2] annulation represents an elegant and versatile synthetic protocol for the construction of benzene rings. Herein, a strategy for visible‐light induced [4+2] annulation of thiophenes and alkynes, to afford benzene rings, is presented. Under simple and mild reaction conditions, the ready availability and structural diversity of thiophenes and alkynes permit the facile synthesis of several substituted aromatic rings. Valuable drugs and amino acids are also well tolerated. Moreover, DFT calculations explain the high regioselectivity of the reaction.     

Visible‐Light‐Mediated Selective Arylation of Cysteine in Batch and Flow

A mild visible‐light‐mediated strategy for cysteine arylation is presented. The method relies on the use of eosin Y as a metal‐free photocatalyst and aryldiazonium salts as arylating agents. The reaction can be significantly accelerated in a microflow reactor, whilst allowing the in situ formation of the required diazonium salts. The batch and flow protocol described herein can be applied to obtain a broad series of arylated cysteine derivatives and arylated cysteine‐containing dipeptides. Moreover, the method was applied to the chemoselective arylation of a model peptide in biocompatible reaction conditions (room temperature, phosphate‐buffered saline (PBS) buffer) within a short reaction time.     

Tetraacylgermanes: Highly Efficient Photoinitiators for Visible‐Light‐Induced Free‐Radical Polymerization

In this contribution a convenient synthetic method to obtain tetraacylgermanes Ge[C(O)R]₄ (R=mesityl ( 1 a ), phenyl ( 1 b )), a previously unknown class of highly efficient Ge‐based photoinitiators, is described. Tetraacylgermanes are easily accessible via a one‐pot synthetic protocol in >85 % yield, as confirmed by NMR spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, and X‐ray crystallography. The efficiency of 1 a , b as photoinitiators is demonstrated in photobleaching (UV/Vis), time‐resolved EPR (CIDEP), and NMR/CIDNP investigations as well as by photo‐DSC studies. Remarkably, the tetraacylgermanes exceed the performance of currently known long‐wavelength visible‐light photoinitiators for free‐radical polymerization     

Visible‐Light‐Driven Iron‐Promoted Thiocarboxylation of Styrenes and Acrylates with CO2

The first thiocarboxylation of styrenes and acrylates with CO₂ was realized by using visible light as a driving force and catalytic iron salts as promoters. A variety of important β‐thioacids were obtained in high yields. This multicomponent reaction proceeds in an atom‐ and redox‐economical manner with broad substrate scope under mild reaction conditions. Notably, high regio‐, chemo‐, and diasteroselectivity are observed. Mechanistic studies indicate that a radical pathway can account for the unusual regioselectivity.     

Visible‐Light‐Promoted Asymmetric Cross‐Dehydrogenative Coupling of Tertiary Amines to Ketones by Synergistic Multiple Catalysis

Reported herein is an unprecedented photocatalytic asymmetric cross‐dehydrogenative coupling reaction between tertiary amines and simple ketones, and it proceeds by synergistic multiple catalysis with substoichiometric amounts of a hydrogen acceptor. This process is enabled by a simple chiral primary amine catalyst through the coupling of a catalytic enamine intermediate and an iminium cation intermediate in situ generated from tetrahydroisoquinoline derivatives by coupled Ru/Co catalysis.     

Visible‐Light‐Driven Palladium‐Catalyzed Radical Alkylation of C−H Bonds with Unactivated Alkyl Bromides

Reported herein is a novel visible‐light photoredox system with Pd(PPh₃)₄ as the sole catalyst for the realization of the first direct cross‐coupling of C(sp³)−H bonds in N‐aryl tetrahydroisoquinolines with unactivated alkyl bromides. Moreover, intra‐ and intermolecular alkylations of heteroarenes were also developed under mild reaction conditions. A variety of tertiary, secondary, and primary alkyl bromides undergo reaction to generate C(sp³)−C(sp³) and C(sp²)−C(sp³) bonds in moderate to excellent yields. These redox‐neutral reactions feature broad substrate scope (>60 examples), good functional‐group tolerance, and facile generation of quaternary centers. Mechanistic studies indicate that the simple palladium complex acts as the visible‐light photocatalyst and radicals are involved in the process.     

Bioactive Peptide Brush Polymers via Photoinduced Reversible‐Deactivation Radical Polymerization

Harnessing metal‐free photoinduced reversible‐deactivation radical polymerization (photo‐RDRP) in organic and aqueous phases, we report a synthetic approach to enzyme‐responsive and pro‐apoptotic peptide brush polymers. Thermolysin‐responsive peptide‐based polymeric amphiphiles assembled into spherical micellar nanoparticles that undergo a morphology transition to worm‐like micelles upon enzyme‐triggered cleavage of coronal peptide sidechains. Moreover, pro‐apoptotic polypeptide brushes show enhanced cell uptake over individual peptide chains of the same sequence, resulting in a significant increase in cytotoxicity to cancer cells. Critically, increased grafting density of pro‐apoptotic peptides on brush polymers correlates with increased uptake efficiency and concurrently, cytotoxicity. The mild synthetic conditions afforded by photo‐RDRP, make it possible to access well‐defined peptide‐based polymer bioconjugate structures with tunable bioactivity.     

Enantioselective Visible‐Light‐Mediated Formation of 3‐Cyclopropylquinolones by Triplet‐Sensitized Deracemization

3‐Allyl‐substituted quinolones undergo a triplet‐sensitized di‐π‐methane rearrangement reaction to the corresponding 3‐cyclopropylquinolones upon irradiation with visible light (λ=420 nm). A chiral hydrogen‐bonding sensitizer (10 mol %) was shown to promote the reaction enantioselectively (88–96 % yield, 32–55 % ee). Surprisingly, it was found that the enantiodifferentiation does not occur at the state of initial product formation but that it is the result of a deracemization event. The individual parameters that control the distribution of enantiomers in the photostationary state have been identified.     

In‐situ Chemiluminescence‐Driven Reversible Addition–Fragmentation Chain‐Transfer Photopolymerization

The power of chemical light generation (chemiluminescence) is used to drive polymerization reactions. A biphasic reaction is developed such that light‐generating reactions are confined to the organic phase and photopolymerization occurs in the aqueous phase. Well‐defined RAFT‐capped polymers are synthesized and the kinetics are shown to be dictated by light generation.     

1,2‐Dithienyldicyanoethene‐Based,Visible‐Light‐Driven,Chiral Fluorescent Molecular Switch: Rewritable Multimodal Photonic Devices

Reported here is the first example of a 1,2‐dithienyldicyanoethene‐based visible‐light‐driven chiral fluorescent molecular switch that exhibits reversible trans to cis photoisomerization. The trans form in solution almost completely transforms into the cis form, accompanied by a 10‐fold decrease in its fluorescence intensity within 60 seconds when exposed to green light (520 nm). The reverse isomerization proceeds upon irradiation with blue light (405 nm). When doped into commercially available achiral liquid crystal hosts, this molecular switch efficiently induces luminescent helical superstructures, that is, a cholesteric phase. The intensity of the circularly polarized fluorescence as well as the selective reflection wavelength of the induced cholesteric phases can be reversibly tuned using visible light of two different wavelengths. Optically rewritable photonic devices using cholesteric films containing this molecular switch are described.     

Visible‐Light‐Induced Hydrodifluoromethylation of Alkenes with a Bromodifluoromethylphosphonium Bromide

Bromodifluoromethylphosphonium bromide was solely used as the precursor of difluorocarbene. Herein, an unprecedented visible‐light‐induced hydrodifluoromethylation of alkenes with bromodifluoromethylphosphonium bromide using H₂O and THF as hydrogen sources for the synthesis of difluoromethylated alkanes is described. This difluoromethylation is characterized by mild reaction conditions, ready availability of reagents, and excellent functional‐group tolerance.     

Visible‐Light‐Induced Photoredox Catalysis with a Tetracerium‐Containing Silicotungstate

The development of visible‐light‐induced photocatalysts for chemoselective functional group transformations has received considerable attention. Polyoxometalates (POMs) are potential materials for efficient photocatalysts because their properties can be precisely tuned by changing their constituent elements and structures and by the introduction of additional metal cations. Furthermore, they are thermally and oxidatively more stable than the frequently utilized organometallic complexes. The visible‐light‐responsive tetranuclear cerium(III)‐containing silicotungstate TBA₆[{Ce(H₂O)}₂{Ce(CH₃CN)}₂(μ₄‐O)(γ‐SiW₁₀O₃₆)₂] (CePOM; TBA=tetra‐n‐butylammonium) has now been synthesized; when CePOM was irradiated with visible light (λ>400 nm), a unique intramolecular Ce^III‐to‐POM(W^VI) charge transfer was observed. With CePOM, the photocatalytic oxidative dehydrogenation of primary and secondary amines as well as the α‐cyanation of tertiary amines smoothly proceeded in the presence of O₂ (1 atm) as the sole oxidant.