Light-Driven Photocatalyst-Free Synthesis of ß, δ-Functionalized Ketones from Aldehydes.

The synthesis of ketones has been a long focus of chemistry research, on account of its unique reactivity. Herein, we report a simple light-driven photocatalyst-free synthesis of ß, δ-functionalized ketones from aldehydes, using inexpensive and commercially abundant feedstock chemicals. This reaction is enabled by the direct acyl radical generation via hydrogen atom transfer and the subsequent radical addition process, avoiding the need for prefunctionalized substrates and organometallic reagent.

Light-Driven Three-Component Carbonylation of Aryl Halides Using Abundant Metal Carbonyl.

Carbonyl compounds are widely found in various pharmaceutical intermediates and synthetic precursors. Herein we report a simple light-driven three-component aryl halide process for synthesizing a variety of carbonylation products, utilizing Co2(CO)8 as an abundant solid carbonyl source, in good to excellent yields. The products can easily be subjected to further functionalization in synthesis. Mechanism studies indicated that this reaction is enabled by aryl radical generation and the subsequent CO insertion, alkene insertion, and protonation process.