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Light‐Promoted Organocatalysis with N‐Heterocyclic Carbenes
Author(s) -
Mavroskoufis Andreas,
Jakob Michael,
Hopkinson Matthew N.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
chemphotochem
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.13
H-Index - 18
ISSN - 2367-0932
DOI - 10.1002/cptc.202000120
Subject(s) - organocatalysis , carbene , chemistry , photoredox catalysis , electron transfer , catalysis , substrate (aquarium) , organic synthesis , combinatorial chemistry , photochemistry , biochemical engineering , organic chemistry , enantioselective synthesis , photocatalysis , oceanography , geology , engineering
The combination of N‐heterocyclic carbene (NHC)‐organocatalysis with photochemical activation can lead to unprecedented reaction pathways not observed without light. A selection of dual catalytic systems merging NHCs with photoredox catalysis, for example, have leveraged the ability of NHCs to stabilize intermediate radical species and facilitate single electron transfer events. Furthermore, NHCs can transiently modulate the photochemical properties of a substrate and enable direct absorption of otherwise photoinactive organic compounds. In this Concept article, the recent advances in this rapidly developing field are summarized. For each transformation, a particular focus is placed on the mechanistic aspects of the process while key features that highlight the synthetic potential of the light mediated NHC organocatalysis are presented.