A practical synthesis of α-bromo/iodo/chloroketones from olefins under visible-light irradiation conditions

A practical synthesis of α-bromo/iodo/chloroketones from olefins under visible-light irradiation conditions has been developed. In the presence of PhI(OAc)2 as promoter and under ambient conditions, the reactions of styrenes and triiodomethane undergo the transformation smoothly to deliver the corresponding α-iodoketones without additional photocatalyst in good yields under sunlight irradiation. Meanwhile, the reactions of styrenes with tribromomethane and trichloromethane generate the desired α-bromoketones and α-chloroketones in high yields by using Ru(bpy)3Cl2 as a photocatalyst under blue LED (450–455 nm) irradiation.