Search

Precious metal complexes remain ubiquitous in photoredox catalysis (PRC) despite concerted efforts to find more earth-abundant catalysts and replacements based on 3d metals in particular. Most otherwise plausible 3d metal complexes are assumed to be unsuitable due to short-lived excited states, which has led researchers to prioritize the pursuit of longer excited-state lifetimes through careful molecular design. However, we report herein that the C-H arylation of pyrroles and related substrates (which are benchmark reactions for assessing the efficacy of photoredox catalysts) can be achieved using a simple and readily accessible octahedral bis(diiminopyridine) cobalt complex, [1-Co](PF 6 ) 2 . Notably, [1-Co] 2+ efficiently functionalizes both chloro- and bromoarene substrates despite the short excited-state lifetime of the key photoexcited intermediate *[1-Co] 2+ (8 ps). We present herein the scope of this C-H arylation protocol and provide mechanistic insights derived from detailed spectroscopic and computational studies. These indicate that, despite its transient existence, reduction of *[1-Co] 2+ is facilitated via pre-assembly with the NEt 3 reductant, highlighting an alternative strategy for the future development of 3d metal-catalyzed PRC., (© 2024 The Authors. Angewandte Chemie International Edition published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

We report a novel example of electro-mediated photoredox catalysis (e-PRC) in the reductive cleavage of C(sp 3 )-O bonds of phosphinated alcohols to alkyl carbanions. As well as deoxygenations, olefinations are reported which are E-selective and can be made Z-selective in a tandem reduction/photosensitization process where both steps are photoelectrochemically promoted. Spectroscopy, computation, and catalyst structural variations reveal that our new naphthalene monoimide-type catalyst allows for an intimate dispersive precomplexation of its radical anion form with the phosphinate substrate, facilitating a reactivity-determining C(sp 3 )-O cleavage. Surprisingly and in contrast to previously reported photoexcited radical anion chemistries, our conditions tolerate aryl chlorides/bromides and do not give rise to Birch-type reductions., (© 2021 The Authors. Angewandte Chemie International Edition published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Lewis acids have recently been recognized as catalysts enabling enantioselective photochemical transformations. Mechanistic studies on these systems are however rare, either due to their absorption at wavelengths shorter than 260 nm, or due to the limitations of theoretical dynamic studies for larger complexes. In this work, we overcome these challenges and employ sub-30-fs transient absorption in the UV, in combination with a highly accurate theoretical treatment on the XMS-CASPT2 level. We investigate 2-cyclohexenone and its complex to boron trifluoride and analyze the observed dynamics based on trajectory calculations including non-adiabatic coupling and intersystem crossing. This approach explains all ultrafast decay pathways observed in the complex. We show that the Lewis acid remains attached to the substrate in the triplet state, which in turn explains why chiral boron-based Lewis acids induce a high enantioselectivity in photocycloaddition reactions., (© 2021 The Authors. Angewandte Chemie International Edition published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

We report palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions of chiral secondary non-stabilized dialkylzinc reagents, prepared from readily available chiral secondary alkyl iodides, with alkenyl and aryl halides. This method provides α-chiral alkenes and arenes with very high retention of configuration (dr up to 98:2) and satisfactory overall yields (up to 76 % for 3 reaction steps). The configurational stability of these chiral non-stabilized dialkylzinc reagents was determined and exceeded several hours at 25 °C. DFT calculations were performed to rationalize the stereoretention during the catalytic cycle. Furthermore, the cross-coupling reaction was applied in an efficient total synthesis of the sesquiterpenes (S)- and (R)-curcumene with control of the absolute stereochemistry., (© 2019 The Authors. Published by Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA.)

The photochemical properties of indigo, a widely used industrial dye, has attracted both experimentalists and theoreticians from the beginning. Especially the high photostability of indigo has been the subject of intensive research. Recently, it was proposed that after photoexcitation an intramolecular proton transfer followed by a nonradiative relaxation to the ground state promote photostability. In indigo the hydrogen bond and the proton transfer occur between the opposing hemiindigo parts. Here, we provide experimental and theoretical evidence that a hydrogen transfer within one hemiindigo or hemithioindigo part is sufficient to attain photostability. This concept can serve as an interesting strategy towards new photostable dyes for the visible part of the spectrum., (Copyright © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

The importance of a backbone: The mechanism of formation of Dewar lesions has been investigated by using femtosecond IR spectroscopy and ab initio calculations of the exited state. The 4π electrocyclization is rather slow, occurs with an unusual high quantum yield, and--surprisingly--is controlled by the phosphate backbone., (Copyright © 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)