Novel Way to Harness Solar Energy: Photo-Redox Catalysis in Organic Synthesis

Visible light-mediated photo-redox catalysis has evolved as one of the exponentially growing fields in organic synthesis. The development of visible light-promoted photocatalytic reactions, which enable rapid and efficient synthesis of fine chemicals, is highly desirable from the viewpoint of cost, safety, availability, and environmental friendliness. The present review highlights the renaissance of interest in synthetic applications of photo-redox reactions. This powerful, enabling technology has led in the development of a remarkably diverse range of organic free radical and radical ion reactions, which have remarkable impact in the field of organic synthesis, materials science and pharmaceutical chemistry.