Metal-Free Catalyst for Visible-Light-Induced Oxidation of Unactivated Alcohols Using Air/Oxygen as an Oxidant

9-Fluorenone acts as a metal-free and additive-free photocatalyst for the selective oxidation of primary and secondary alcohols under visible light. With this photocatalyst, a plethora of alcohols such as aliphatic, heteroaromatic, aromatic, and alicyclic compounds has been converted to the corresponding carbonyl compounds using air/oxygen as an oxidant. In addition to these, several steroids have been oxidized to the corresponding carbonyl compounds. Detailed mechanistic studies have also been achieved to determine the role of the oxidant and the photocatalyst for this oxidation.