Highly reductive photocatalytic systems in organic synthesis

Reductive organic transformations, which are important in both academia and industry to generate valuable chemicals, have been widely investigated. However, the reductive transformations of inert substrates still face many challenges, such as high cost and potential safety issues arising from strong reductants in excess, UVC light irradiation, or strong current density for electrolysis. In this context, visible-light photocatalysis has emerged as an ideal approach to provide highly reductive systems for the activation of inert substrates via single-electron reduction under mild conditions. In this review, we highlight some recent contributions to this field, classify them as single-or multiphoton excitation systems, elucidate the mechanisms with different super electron donors, and analyze their structural features on reducibility. Furthermore, the limitations and potential applications of this field will be discussed.

Automated summary

Reductive organic transformations are important in generating valuable chemicals, and visible-light photocatalysis has emerged as an ideal approach to activate inert substrates under mild conditions. This review highlights recent contributions in this field, including different excitation systems, mechanisms, and structural features, as well as limitations and potential applications.