In this work, we show that the innate reactivity of the photoexcited state of a Mn-hydride complex can be harnessed to design the activation of the H2 molecule for catalytic applications. Such activat...

Classical upconversion employs sensitizers and annihilators as two distinct molecular species and is, therefore, classified as heteromolecular. Homomolecular upconversion, the unification of both role...

Photochemistry and total synthesis are deeply rooted in the history of organic chemistry, each developing independently while also intersecting frequently. Indeed, mild reaction conditions, versatility of transformations, and complementary selectivities to thermal methods make photochemistry an especially powerful tool for the synthesis of complex target molecules. In this Review, we highlight recent examples of total syntheses (from 2020 to 2025) featuring photochemical reactions as pivotal steps. Although the application of photochemistry in total synthesis has been consistently reviewed throughout the past decades, we feel that the wider emergence of photocatalytic methods, together with the continued importance of certain direct irradiation approaches, warrants its own discussion. We hope that our analytical approach and strategic insights will help us to identify cases where photochemical reactions could prove useful, thereby further encouraging their use in total syntheses.

Cross-electrophile coupling (XEC) reactions are considered to be among the most fundamental construction of carbon–carbon bonds in organic chemistry. Traditionally, stoichiometric reductants, includin...

Affinity-driven reactions have allowed chemists to perform site-selective modifications of native proteins. By combining the high cysteine chemoselectivity of hypervalent iodine-based ethynylbenziodox...

Herein, we report a photocatalytic method for the selective functionalization of α-C(sp3)-H bonds adjacent to the nitrogen atom in amides. By harnessing a synergistic combination of hydrogen atom transfer (HAT), consecutive photoinduced electron transfer (ConPET), and reductive radical-polar crossover, we efficiently incorporated high-value electrophiles, including CO2, 13CO2, and deuterium, at the α-N position. The transformation proceeds in moderate to high yields across a diverse range of amides, representing a significant advancement in both isotopically labeled α-amino acid synthesis and amide deuteration.

Nature - Photocatalytic oxygen-atom transmutation of oxetanes

Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson and Omar M. Yaghi win the prize for developing metal–organic frameworks

Mineral acids promote nickel-catalyzed C(sp2)<span class='icomoon'></span>S cross-coupling of bromoanilines and related amine-containing electrophiles with thiols by protonating free amines, thereby facilitating oxidative addit...

Engineered NaYbF4:Tm3+@NaYF4 nanoparticles, featuring a fully sensitized Yb3+ lattice and an optimized core–shell architecture, convert five 980 nm photons by sequential absorption into a single 345 ...

Beilstein Journal of Organic Chemistry

Selectivity is an essential part of organic synthesis and key to synthetic efficiency. However, selectivity is challenging to achieve in hydrocarbon molecules. Herein we report a mild and direct meth....

A general strategy has been developed for predictable and robust vinyl halide cross-coupling reactions. This approach demonstrates broad applicability across seven distinct bond-forming transformatio...

Indanones are key structural motifs in pharmaceuticals and bioactive natural products, making their efficient synthesis a subject of continued interest. Conventional methods typically rely on transiti...

The reaction of [K(thf)0.33][Co(η4-cod)2] (E; cod = 1,5-cyclooctadiene) with 0.5 equiv of MgCl2 led to the isolation of the magnesium dicobalt complex Mg[Co(η4-cod)2]2 (1). Complex 1 forms a tight ionic complex in the solid state and in toluene solution due to electrostatic interactions between the Mg2+ cation and the [Co(η4-cod)2]− anions. The complex is a successful precatalyst for the hydrogenation of sterically challenging tri- and tetra-substituted alkenes, surpassing the catalytic capabilities of related alkali metal and β-diketiminate magnesium complexes.

Magnetic stirrers, the most widely used and ubiquitous devices for performing chemical reactions in laboratory settings, may cause reproducibility problems. Reproducibility in a range of chemical proc...

Welcome to our website We are a young team working at the Materials & Environment Laboratory (MEL) at the VSB - Technical University of Ostrava. Our research lies at the interface of materials science...