Issue 46, 2023

Recent advances in combining photo- and N-heterocyclic carbene catalysis

Abstract

N-Heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) are unique Lewis basic catalysts that mediate various organic transformations by means of polarity reversal. Although the scope of research on two-electron reactions mediated by NHC catalysts has been expanding, the types of these reactions are limited by the inability of NHCs to engage sp3-electrophiles. However, the revival of photocatalysis has accelerated the development of free-radical chemistry, and combining photoredox catalysis and NHC catalysis to achieve NHC-mediated radical reactions under mild conditions could overcome the above-mentioned limitation. This review summarizes recent advances in combining photoredox and NHC catalysis, focusing on elucidation and exploration of mechanisms, with the aim of identifying challenges and opportunities to develop more types of catalytic models.

Graphical abstract: Recent advances in combining photo- and N-heterocyclic carbene catalysis

Article information

Article type
Review Article
Submitted
28 6 2023
Accepted
27 10 2023
First published
31 10 2023
This article is Open Access

All publication charges for this article have been paid for by the Royal Society of Chemistry
Creative Commons BY license

Chem. Sci., 2023,14, 13367-13383

Recent advances in combining photo- and N-heterocyclic carbene catalysis

X. Wang, S. Wu, R. Yang, H. Song, Y. Liu and Q. Wang, Chem. Sci., 2023, 14, 13367 DOI: 10.1039/D3SC03274D

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications without requesting further permissions from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given.

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