Speaker: Professor Paolo Melchiorre (University of Bologna)

Hosts: Synthesis & Catalysis theme

Time & Location: 14:00PM - 15:00PM, 5th June 2023, Chemistry Building - LT2

Title: Photochemistry & Organocatalysis: New Radical Opportunities 

Abstract: 

The chemical reactivity of electronically excited molecules differs fundamentally from that in the ground state. For example, an excited-state molecule is both a better electron-donor (i.e. a better reductant) and electron-acceptor (i.e. a better oxidant) than in the ground state. This explains why light excitation of organic molecules can unlock unconventional reactivity manifolds. 

In this context, our laboratory has been exploring the potential of some organocatalytic intermediates to directly reach an electronically excited state upon visible-light absorption to then switch on novel catalytic functions unavailable to ground-state organocatalysis. Studying the mechanisms of these photochemical approaches allowed us to expand the synthetic possibilities offered by the excited-state reactivity of organocatalytic intermediates and to develop enantioselective radical processes.