Formation of N-Heterocyclic Carbene-Boryl Radicals through Electrochemical and Photochemical Cleavage of the B-S bond in N-Heterocyclic Carbene-Boryl Sulfides

The B-S bond in N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC)-boryl sulfides can be cleaved homolytically to NHC-boryl or NHC-thioboryl and thiyl radicals using light, either directly around 300 nm or with a sensitizer at a longer wavelength (>340 nm). In contrast, the electrochemical reductive cleavage of the B-S bond is difficult. This easy photolytic cleavage makes the NHC-boryl sulfides good type I photopolymerization initiators for the polymerization of acrylates under air.