Phenols as Novel Photocatalytic Platforms for Organic Synthesis

In recent years, organic chemists have devoted a great deal of effort towards the implementation of novel green photocatalytic synthetic protocols. To this end, the development of new effective, non-toxic, inexpensive photocatalysts, which are capable of driving value-added chemical transformations, is highly desirable. Interestingly, phenols fulfill all these requirements due to their outstanding physicochemical features, therefore emerging as promising metal-free photocatalytic platforms for organic synthesis. This Perspective aims at highlighting the most recent applications of phenols in organic photocatalysis. More specifically, phenolate anions, formed upon deprotonation of phenols, are photo-active organic intermediates that may absorb light within the visible region. Thus, when in the excited states, these anions may be used as reductants to generate reactive open shell species from suitable precursors under mild operative conditions. Alternatively, phenolate anions and suitable radical precursors can form electron donor-acceptor (EDA) complexes. Specifically, the photochemical activity of these molecular aggregates can be used to initiate organic radical reactions. Lastly, forward-looking opportunities within this research field have been discussed.