Acridinium Salts and Cyanoarenes as Powerful Photocatalysts: Opportunities in Organic Synthesis

• Published in: Angewandte Chemie International Edition Vol. 60; no. 36; pp. 19526 - 19549
• Main Authors: Tlili, Anis, Lakhdar, Sami
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Germany Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.09.2021; Wiley-VCH Verlag
• Edition: International ed. in English
• Subjects: acridinium salts; Catalysis; Chemical bonds; Chemical Sciences; Chemical synthesis; cyanoarenes; organophotocatalysis; Photocatalysis; Photocatalysts; Photoredox catalysis; radicals; Salts; cyanoarenes; photoredox catalysis; organophotocatalysis; radicals; acridinium salts
• ISSN: 1433-7851; 1521-3773
• DOI: 10.1002/anie.202102262

The use of organic photocatalysts has revolutionized the field of photoredox catalysis, as it allows access to reactivities that were traditionally restricted to transition‐metal photocatalysts. This Minireview reports recent developments in the use of acridinium ions and cyanoarene derivatives in organic synthesis. The activation of inert chemical bonds as well as the late‐stage functionalization of biorelevant molecules are discussed, with a special focus on their mechanistic aspects. As a result of their unique reactivity in numerous challenging organic transformations, acridinium salts and cyanoarenes have become the organophotocatalysts of choice in organic chemistry. This Minireview discusses the synthesis of these catalysts and their multireactivity, with a special focus on mechanistic aspects.