Rational design of super reductive EDA photocatalyst for challenging reactions: a theoretical and experimental study

Abstract

We reported a novel electron-donor-acceptor (EDA) photocatalyst formed in situ from isoquinoline, a diboron reagent, and a weak base. To further optimize the efficiency of this photocatalyst, Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations were conducted to investigate the substituent effects on the properties of vertical excitation energy and redox potential. Subsequently, we experimentally validated these effects using a broader range of substituents and varying substitution positions. Notably, the 4-NH₂ EDA complex derived from 4-NH₂-isoquinoline exhibits the highest photocatalytic efficiency, enabling feasible metal free borylation of aromatic C–H bond and detosylaion of Ts-anilines under green and super mild conditions. These experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of our strategy for photocatalyst optimization.