The photocatalytic hydroxylation of boronic acids with methylene blue as photosensitizer proceeds with high efficiency. Detailed time-resolved studies of the relevant rate constants provide a clear mechanistic understanding of excited-state processes and guided the selection of the photocatalyst and the optimization of experimental conditions.

The use of organofluorine compounds, especially those with an incorporated trifluoromethyl moiety, has increased dramatically in both the pharmaceutical and agrochemical industry. It has therefore become imperative to develop a mild and efficient synthetic technique for the inclusion of trifluoromethyl groups. Herein, we report the first use of methylene blue as a photosensitizer for the catalytic radical trifluoro-and hydrotrifluoromethylation of electronrich heterocycles as well as terminal alkenes and alkynes under visible light irradiation. These reactions proceed with moderate to good yields at low catalyst concentrations; short irradiation times; and most importantly, without the need for potentially toxic transition-metal catalysts. In this work, considerable emphasis was also placed on understanding the kinetics of the mechanistically key steps through the use of laser flash photolysis techniques to more efficiently optimize the reaction conditions.

Recent progress in the development of photocatalytic reactions promoted by visible light is leading to a renaissance in the use of photochemistry in the construction of structurally elaborate organic molecules. Because of the rich functionality found in natural products, studies in natural product total synthesis provide useful insights into functional group compatibility of these new photocatalytic methods as well as their impact on synthetic strategy. In this review, we examine total syntheses published through the end of 2020 that employ a visible-light photoredox catalytic step. To assist someone interested in employing the photocatalytic steps discussed, the review is organized largely by the nature of the bond formed in the photocatalytic step.

Over the past decade, the field of photoredox catalysis has gained increasing attention in synthetic organic chemistry because of its wide applicability in sustainable free-radical-mediated processes. Numerous examples have shown that under carefully optimized conditions, efficient and highly selective processes can be developed through excitation of a photosensitizer using inexpensive, readily available light sources. However, despite all of these recent advancements, some generalizations and/or misconceptions have become part of the photoredox culture, and often many of these discoveries lack in-depth investigations into the excited-state kinetics and underlying mechanisms. In this Account, we begin with a tutorial for understanding both the redox properties of excited states and how to measure the kinetics of excited-state processes. We discuss the generalization of direct excitation of closed-shell species to generate more potent reductive or oxidative excited states, using the helium atom as a quantitative example. We also outline how to apply redox potentials to calculate whether the proposed electron transfer events are thermodynamically feasible. In the second half of our tutorial, we discuss how to measure the kinetics of excited-state processes using techniques such as steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence and transient spectroscopy and how to apply the data using Stern-Volmer and kinetic analysis. Then we shift gears to discuss our recent contributions to the field of photoredox catalysis. Our lab focuses on developing transition-metal-free alternatives to ruthenium and iridium bipyridyl complexes for these transformations, with the goal of developing systems in which the reaction kinetics is more favorable. We have found that methylene blue, a member of the thiazine dye family, can be employed in photoredox processes such as oxidative hydroxylations of arylboronic acids to phenols. Interestingly, we were able to demonstrate that methylene blue is more efficient for this reaction than Ru(bpy)3Cl2, which upon further examination using transient spectroscopic techniques we were able to relate to the reductive quenching ability of the aliphatic amine. Recently we were also successful in applying methylene blue for radical trifluoromethylation reactions, which is discussed in detail. Finally, we have also demonstrated that common organic electron donors, such as α-sexithiophene, can be used in photoredox processes, which we demonstrate using the dehalogenation of vic-dibromides as a model system. This is a particularly interesting system because well-defined, long-lived intermediates allowed us to fully characterize the catalytic cycle. Once again, through an in-depth kinetic analysis we were able to gain valuable insights into our reaction mechanism, which demonstrates how powerful a tool proper kinetic analysis can be in the design and optimization of photoredox processes.

Photoredox catalysis provides many green opportunities for radical-mediated synthetic transformations. However, the determination of the underlying mechanisms has been challenging due to lack of quantitative methods that can be easily implemented in synthetic labs, where this research tends to be centered. We report here on the development, characterization and calibration of a novel actinometer based on the photocatalyst tris(2,2′-bipyridyl)ruthenium(II) chloride (Ru(bpy)3Cl2). By using the same molecule as the photocatalyst and the actinometer, we eliminate problems associated with matching sample spectral distribution, lamp-sample spectral overlap and other problems intrinsic to doing quantitative photochemistry in a laboratory that has little expertise in this area. In order to validate our actinometer system in determining the quantum yield of a Ru(bpy)3Cl2 photosensitized reaction, we test the Ru(bpy)3Cl2 catalyzed oxidation of benzhydrol to benzophenone as a model chain reaction. We also revive the rotating sector method by updating the technique for modern LED technologies and demonstrate how intermittent illumination on the timescale of milliseconds to seconds can help probe a chain reaction, using the benzhydrol to benzophenone oxidation to validate the technique. We envision these methods to have great implications in the field of photoredox catalysis, providing researchers with valuable research tools.