Frontiers in Radical Fluoromethylation by Visible-Light Organic Photocatalysis

Fluoromethyl groups, including tri-, di-, and mono-fluoromethyl (CF3, CF2H, and CH2F, respectively) groups, are important structural motifs in medicinal chemistry. Radical fluoromethylation has attracted significant interest for the late-stage functionalization of complex bioactive molecules. Recently, light energy has been used for radical reactions in synthesis of various valuable products. Strategies using organic photocatalysts (OPCs) are beneficial for synthetic radical chemistry and various aspects of sustainable development goals (SDGs). Particularly, over the past several years, considerable progress has been made in the field of photoinduced radical fluoromethylation by OPCs. In this minireview, the concepts of representative reaction systems for fluoromethyl radical generation will be discussed.