Synlett 2021; 32(13): 1330-1342
DOI: 10.1055/a-1493-3564
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Perspectives on Organoheteroatom and Organometallic Chemistry

Perspectives for Uranyl Photoredox Catalysis

Deqing Hu
a   Shanghai Key Laboratory of Green Chemistry and Chemical Process, School of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, East China Normal University, 3663 North Zhongshan Road, Shanghai 200062, P. R. of China
,
Xuefeng Jiang
a   Shanghai Key Laboratory of Green Chemistry and Chemical Process, School of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, East China Normal University, 3663 North Zhongshan Road, Shanghai 200062, P. R. of China
b   State Key Laboratory of Organometallic Chemistry, Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 345 Lingling Road, Shanghai 200032, P. R. of China
c   State Key Laboratory of Elemento-Organic Chemistry, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, P. R. of China
› Author Affiliations
The authors are grateful for financial support provided by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC; 21971065), the Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality (STCSM; 20XD1421500, 20JC1416800, and 18JC1415600), the Innovative Research Team of High-Level Local Universities in Shanghai (SSMU-ZLCX20180501), the Professor of Special Appointment (Eastern Scholar) at Shanghai Institutions of Higher Learning, and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities.


Abstract

The application of uranyl salts as powerful photoredox catalysts in chemical transformations lags behind the advances achieved in thermocatalysis and structural chemistry. In fact, uranyl cations (UO2 2+) have proven to be ideal photoredox catalysts in visible-light-driven chemical reactions. The excited state of uranyl cations (*UO2 2+) that is generated by visible-light irradiation has a long-lived fluorescence lifetime up to microseconds and high oxidizing ability [E o = +2.6 V vs. standard hydrogen electrode (SHE)]. After ligand-to-metal charge transfer (LMCT), quenching occurs with organic substrates via hydrogen-atom transfer (HAT) or single-electron transfer (SET). Interestingly, the ground state and excited state of uranyl cations (UO2 2+) are chemically inert toward oxygen molecules, preventing undesired transformations from active oxygen species. This review summarizes recent advances in photoredox transformations enabled by uranyl salts.

1 Introduction

2 The Application of Uranyl Photoredox Catalysis in HAT Mode

3 The Application of Uranyl Photoredox Catalysis in SET Mode

4 Conclusion and Outlook



Publication History

Received: 16 March 2021

Accepted after revision: 28 April 2021

Accepted Manuscript online:
28 April 2021

Article published online:
20 May 2021

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