An entirely solvent-free photooxygenation of olefins under continuous flow conditions

Abstract

Photooxygenations of alkenes with singlet oxygen are a versatile, atom-economical transformation. The choice of solvents is key to the success of this oxyfunctionalization with direct impact on the solubility of substrates, the lifetime of the reactive oxygen species, and the up-scaling of the process. We report an entirely solvent-free continuous-flow photooxygenation that operates at very high substrate/sensitizer ratios and enables high space–time yields.