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Carbon radical generation by irreversible metal-to-ligand charge transfer.
Nature · · Journal Article
Wei, Li + more
Abstract ↗AI summary
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Visible-light irradiation of isolable copper-heteroaryl sulfone complexes drives irreversible MLCT fragmentation via C–S bond cleavage, generating carbon-centered radicals.
- Why it matters: Reversible MLCT excited states usually deactivate without productive substrate engagement, limiting access to radical chemistry from copper photochemistry.
- What they did: The authors used spectroscopic and computational studies to support MLCT-derived excited states and a low-barrier C–S cleavage pathway, largely independent of free-sulfone reduction potentials.
- The result: The platform enables generation of fluoroalkyl and non-fluorinated alkyl radicals, supporting copper-catalyzed C–H fluoroalkylation and MLCT-initiated XAT to achieve radical perfluorocyclobutylation-iodination of alkenes.
The findingWhy it mattersWhat they didThe result
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