Dual catalysis at the flick of a switch

摘要

Difficulties can arise when developing reactions for the production of phar-maceuticals, industrial chemicals and materials if the chemical properties of the reaction components enable undesired products to form. Suppression of side reactions can therefore be just as important a consideration as how to obtain the synthetic target. Catalysis allows chemists to circumvent side products by inducing otherwise unreactive compounds to become selectively reactive. Even more control over reaction outcomes can be gained if reactivity can be induced by the flick of a light switch. On page 74 of this issue, Cuthbertson and MacMillan report their use of visible-light-mediated catalysis to induce atypical activity of reaction substrates, initiating a complex transformation of otherwise unreactive components.