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Reduction of unactivated alkyl chlorides enabled by light-induced single electron transfer

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Abstract

Alkyl chlorides are abundant and easily accessible starting materials. However, due to the high reduction potentials associated with unactivated alkyl chlorides, achieving their single electron reduction remains a persistent challenge. This challenge has spurred the exploration of efficient activation methods to overcome this issue. In recent years, photocatalysis has emerged as a mild and potent tool for the single electron reduction of unactivated alkyl chlorides, opening up new possibilities in this field. Considering the rapid advancements in this area, a comprehensive review that provides a conceptual understanding of this emerging field, with a specific focus on reaction design and catalytic mechanisms, would be timely and highly valuable. Hence, we present an overview of various synthetic techniques for photoinduced single electron reduction of unactivated alkyl chlorides. Furthermore, we also discuss the limitations of the present methods and future directions that lie ahead in this field.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (22001248), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, and the University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

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  1. These authors contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Chemical Sciences, University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China

    Lei Dai, Zhao-Fei Zhang & Xiang-Yu Chen

  2. Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China

    Lei Dai & Zhao-Fei Zhang

  3. Binzhou Institute of Technology, Weiqiao-UCAS Science and Technology Park, Binzhou, 256606, China

    Xiang-Yu Chen

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  1. Lei Dai
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Correspondence to Xiang-Yu Chen.

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Dai, L., Zhang, ZF. & Chen, XY. Reduction of unactivated alkyl chlorides enabled by light-induced single electron transfer. Sci. China Chem. 67, 471–481 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11426-023-1787-3

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