Visible-Light-Mediated Photocatalytic Deracemization

Asymmetric catalysis has long been recognized as a powerful tool for the synthesis of enantioenriched molecules. In addition to precise enantiocontrol, high-atom economy, which is crucial for practicality, has always been pursued by chemists in the development of methodologies. Consequently, deracemization, the direct conversion of a racemic compound to one of its enantiomers, and thus characterized by a 100 % atom efficiency, has attracted increasing interest. Recently, visible-light-driven photocatalysis has been demonstrated to be a promising platform for the development of deracemization. Central to its success is its ability to efficiently overcome the prevailing kinetic issues in chemical transformations and the intrinsic thermodynamic challenges, which typically require the use of additional stoichiometric reagents, thus undermining the original advantages. In this review, the advances in this attractive area are systematically summarized and discussed, with examples organized according to the different modalities of energy transfer and single-electron transfer in photocatalysis.

Automated summary

Asymmetric catalysis is a powerful tool for synthesizing enantioenriched molecules. Deracemization, the direct conversion of a racemic compound to one enantiomer, is an attractive approach with high-atom efficiency. Visible-light-driven photocatalysis has recently emerged as a promising platform for deracemization, overcoming kinetic and thermodynamic challenges in chemical transformations without the need for additional stoichiometric reagents. This review systematically summarizes and discusses the advances in this area, categorizing examples based on energy transfer and single-electron transfer in photocatalysis.