Recent advances in light-enabled deoxygenative transformation of alcohols

Abstract

Alcohols, serving as fundamental building blocks in organic synthesis, face inherent challenges in deoxygenative functionalization due to the strong chemical inertness of C–O bonds characterized by high bond dissociation energies. Recent advances in photoredox catalytic technology have revolutionized this challenging transformation by leveraging the single-electron transfer (SET) process. Under mild visible light irradiation, this methodology enables homolytic cleavage of C–O bonds in alcohols, with the aid of additional functional handles, generating diverse alkyl radicals that subsequently engage in diverse bond-forming pathways. This review systematically examines radical-mediated C–O bond scission strategies in photoredox systems, elucidating the generation mechanisms and transformation patterns of radical intermediates across distinct reaction pathways. It is anticipated that this review will serve as a valuable resource for researchers in the field of alcohol deoxygenative value-added transformation and will stimulate significant advances across organic chemistry, pharmaceutical synthesis, materials science, and other related disciplines.