A series of new organic donor–π–acceptor dyes incorporating a diquat moiety as a novel electron‐acceptor unit have been synthesized and characterized. The analytical data were supported by DFT calculations. These dyes were explored in the aerobic thiocyanation of indoles and pyrroles. Here they showed a high photocatalytic activity under visible light, giving isolated yields of up to 97 %. In addition, the photocatalytic activity of standalone diquat and methyl viologen through formation of an electron donor acceptor complex is presented.
From diquat to dye‐cat: More than just a herbicide, the reversibly reducible diquat moiety now harnesses the power of the sun. Incorporated into donor–acceptor dyes we developed, as well as into charge–transfer complexes we observed, diquat is enabled to absorb visible light. This allowed the use of these systems in the photocatalytic thiocyanation of various indoles and pyrroles, with air as the oxidant. More information can be found in the Research Article by R. Wilhelm and co‐workers (DOI: 10.1002/chem.202203541).
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.