Red light-induced highly efficient aerobic oxidation of organoboron compounds using spinach as a photocatalyst

Abstract

A simple and general red light-induced oxidation of organoboron compounds to obtain hydroxyl has been developed with spinach as the photocatalyst in alcohol. This mild protocol shows broad substrate scope and provides a wide range of aliphatic alcohols and phenols in moderate to excellent yields. Notably, the robustness of this method is suitable for B(OH)₂, Bpin, Bneo and BF₃K substrates that respond to different lights, including red, blue and sunlight. A larger scale experiment and green chemistry metrics analysis prove that this is a robust and green approach, which can even be carried out using only kitchen equipment and ingredients. Further mechanistic investigation suggests that the reaction may involve superoxide anion radicals resulting from photoinduced electron transfer processes.