Visible-Light-Induced Decarboxylative Functionalization of Carboxylic Acids and Their Derivatives

Visible-light-induced radical decarboxylative functionalization of carboxylic acids and their derivatives has recently received considerable attention as a novel and efficient method to create C-C and C-X bonds. Generally, this visible-light-promoted decarboxylation process can smoothly occur under mild reaction conditions with a broad range of substrates and an excellent functional-group tolerance. The radical species formed from the decarboxylation step can participate in not only single photocatalytic transformations, but also dual-catalytic cross-coupling reactions by combining photoredox catalysis with other catalytic processes. Recent advances in this research area are discussed herein.