The Tunable Photophysical Properties of Enamine Intermediates Involved in Light-Driven Aminocatalysis

In this study, the photosensitive nature of reactive enamine and polyenamine intermediates is investigated to improve our understanding of light-mediated aminocatalytic reactions. Experimental optical absorption data and TD-DFT calculations reveal that these intermediates are excited directly from the HOMO on the enamine moiety to low-lying unoccupied orbitals localized on the catalyst scaffold. This indicates that the photophysical properties of enamine intermediates can be tuned for visible light-mediated reactions by modifications to the aminocatalyst.

Automated summary

The study investigates the photosensitive nature of reactive enamine and polyenamine intermediates to improve understanding of light-mediated aminocatalytic reactions. Experimental and computational data suggest that the photophysical properties of enamine intermediates can be adjusted for visible light-mediated reactions by modifying the aminocatalyst.