Research progress on photocatalytic selective oxidation and reduction in organic synthesis

In the 21st century, one of the main goals of chemistry research is developing an energy efficient technology to replace those environmentally hazardous and energy-cost processes. The advent of photocatalytic selective oxidation and reduction systems meets the very demand of energy saving and environment protection. Photocatalytic selective oxidation and reduction reactions usually take place under much milder conditions than conventional catalytic systems, and avoid the use of powerful toxic oxidants and hazardous reductants. Moreover, the high selectivity to target product can be achieved by optimizing the reaction environment, thus offering a green and energy-efficient route for organic synthesis as well as the most promising green organic chemistry technology in the 21st century. This review focuses on recent progresses on photocatalytic selective oxidation and reduction used in organic synthesis and gives a perspective on the related problems and development trend.