Photoinduced Cleavage of N-N Bonds of Aromatic Hydrazines and Hydrazides by Visible Light

A photocatalytic system involving [Ru(bpyrz)(3)](PF6)(2)center dot 2H(2)O, visible light, and air has been developed for cleavage of the N-N bonds of hydrazines and hydrazides. This catalytic system is generally effective for N, N-disubstituted hydrazine and hydrazide derivatives, including arylhydrazides, N-alkyl-N- arylhydrazines, and N, N-diarylhydrazines. The utility of this cleavage reaction has been demonstrated by synthesizing a variety of secondary aromatic amines.