Metallaphotoredox: The Merger of Photoredox and Transition Metal Catalysis

In this review, we highlight the use of organic photoredox catalysts in a myriad of synthetic transformations with a range of applications. This overview is arranged by catalyst class where the photophysics and electrochemical characteristics of each is discussed to underscore the differences and advantages to each type of single electron redox agent. We highlight both net reductive and oxidative as well as redox neutral transformations that can be accomplished using purely organic photoredox-active catalysts. An overview of the basic photophysics and electron transfer theory is presented in order to provide a comprehensive guide for employing this class of catalysts in photoredox manifolds.

Photoredox catalysis and organocatalysis represent two powerful fields of molecule activation that have found widespread application in the areas of inorganic and organic chemistry, respectively. We merged these two catalysis fields to solve problems in asymmetric chemical synthesis. Specifically, the enantioselective intermolecular alpha-alkylation of aldehydes has been accomplished using an interwoven activation pathway that combines both the photoredox catalyst Ru(bpy)3Cl2 (where bpy is 2,2'-bipyridine) and an imidazolidinone organocatalyst. This broadly applicable, yet previously elusive, alkylation reaction is now highly enantioselective and operationally trivial.