Visible-light-induced transition metal and photosensitizer free decarbonylative addition of amino-arylaldehydes to ketones

Abstract

radical intermediates), often at high temperatures to facilitate the CO release. Herein, a visible-light-induced, transition metal and external photosensitizer free decarbonylative addition of benzaldehydes to ketones/aldehydes at room temperature is reported. Tertiary/secondary alcohols were obtained in moderate to excellent yields promoted by using CsF under mild conditions. The detailed mechanistic investigation showed that the reaction proceeded through photoexcitation-decarbonylation of the aldehyde to generate an aromatic anion, followed by its addition to ketones/aldehydes. The reaction mechanism was verified by the density functional theory (DFT) calculations.

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