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In view of the widespread significance of amide functional groups in organic synthesis and pharmaceutical studies, an efficient and practical synthetic protocol that avoids the use of stoichiometric activating reagents or metallic reductants is highly desirable. A straight-forward pathway to access amides from abundant chemical feedstock would offer a strategic advantage in the synthesis of complex amides. We herein disclose a direct reductive amidation reaction using readily available aldehydes and nitroarenes enabled by photo-mediated hydrogen atom transfer catalysis. It avoids the use of metallic reductants and production of toxic chemical waste. While aldehydes represent a classic class of electrophilic synthons, the corresponding nucleophilic acyl radicals could be directly accessed by photo hydrogen atom transfer catalysis, enabling polarity inversion. Our method provides an orthogonal strategy to conventional amide couplings, tolerating nucleophilic substituents such as free alcohols and sensitive functional groups to amines such as carbonyl or formyl groups. The synthetic utilization of this reductive amidation is demonstrated by the late-stage modification of complex biologically active molecules and direct access of drug molecules leflunomide and lidocaine.

The construction of an aryl ketone structural unit by means of catalytic carbon–carbon coupling reactions represents the state-of-the-art in organic chemistry. Herein we achieved the direct deoxygenative ketone synthesis in aqueous solution from readily available aromatic carboxylic acids and alkenes, affording structurally diverse ketones in moderate to good yields. Visible-light photoredox catalysis enables the direct deoxygenation of acids as acyl sources with triphenylphosphine and represents a distinct perspective on activation. The synthetic robustness is supported by the late-stage modification of several pharmaceutical compounds and complex molecules. This ketone synthetic strategy is further applied to the synthesis of the drug zolpidem in three steps with 50% total yield and a concise construction of cyclophane-braced 18–20 membered macrocycloketones. It represents not only the advancement for the streamlined synthesis of aromatic ketones from feedstock chemicals, but also a photoredox radical activation mode beyond the redox potential of carboxylic acids., Synthesis of aryl ketones can be generally achieved via C–C coupling strategies. Here, the authors show a deoxygenative coupling of carboxylic acids and alkenes enabled by photoredox catalysis and report a wide scope of products, including bioactive and macrocyclic ketones.

An unprecedented deoxygenative arylation of aromatic carboxylic acids has been achieved, allowing the construction of an enhanced library of unsymmetrical diaryl ketones. The synergistic photoredox catalysis and phosphoranyl radical chemistry allows for precise cleavage of a stronger C-O bond and formation of a weaker C-C bond by 1,5-aryl migration under mild reaction conditions. This new protocol is independent of substrate redox-potential, electronic, and substituent effects. It affords a general and promising access to 60 examples of synthetically versatile o-amino and o-hydroxy diaryl ketones under redox-neutral conditions. Furthermore, it also brings one concise route to the total synthesis of quinolone alkaloid, (±)-yaequinolone A2, and a viridicatin derivative in satisfying yields.

The reductive single electron transfer (SET) umpolung amination of aldehyde-derived hydrazones has been developed through visible-light-promoted photoredox catalysis. The ideal transformation of hydrazones into the corresponding hydrazonamide through selective carbon-hydrogen (C-H) bond functionalization represents one of the most step- and atom-economical methods. This SET umpolung strategy features mild conditions and a remarkably broad substrate scope, offering an entirely new substrate class to direct C-H amination.

The novel cascade photoredox/iodide catalytic system enables the alkene to serve as a radical acceptor capable of achieving aminodifluoroalkylation of alkenes. Cheap iodide salts play a vital role in this reaction, which could tune carbocation reactivity through reversible C-I bond formation for controlling reaction selectivity, and a series of competitive reactions are completely eliminated in the presence of multiple reactivity pathways. The present dual catalytic protocol affords a very convenient method for direct synthesis of various difluoro-γ-lactams from simple and readily available starting materials under mild reaction conditions.

Visible light induced photoredox catalysis is an efficient method for radical activation. Herein, we report the photoredox catalysis involving an intramolecular radical-radical coupling reaction that proceeds through a biradical intermediate. This protocol represents a new synthetic route to construct multi-substituted N-heterocycles. Four, five and six-membered N-heterocyclic structures with a quaternary carbon center are accessible under mild conditions.

A novel approach to obtain functionalized tetrazoles by a [3+2] cycloaddition of azide with aldehyde hydrazone is reported. This reaction features a broad substrate scope and mild reaction conditions through an aminyl radical-polar crossover strategy.

Oxazolo[3,2-a]indolone and spiro[furan-2,2′-indolin]one are synthesized by the visible-light-induced aerobic dearomative reaction of indoles. The common indole tethered alcohol at the N1 or C2 position reacts in a cascade fashion, providing facile access to diverse indolone scaffolds.