Event Details

Dr Mattia Silvi from the University of Nottingham joins Lancaster's Chemistry Department for a lecture on photocatalysis. Also available via Teams

Speaker: Dr Mattia Silvi, University of Nottingham

Over the past decade, radical chemistry has witnessed a renaissance, triggered by the introduction of novel mild methods to generate reactive radical species under remarkably mild conditions. In this regard, visible light-mediated photoredox strategies have played a key role, significantly enhancing the synthetic potential of organic radical reactions.

We have recently introduced the use of unconventional radical acceptors in photoredox radical chemistry (e.g., vinyl phosphonium and sulfonium ions). This strategy allowed us to develop practical reactions for the chemo- and stereo-controlled functionalisation of complex molecules in their native form. The concept was also demonstrated to successfully tackle traditionally accepted scope limitations of radical chemistry (i.e., polarity mismatch in radical addition to alkenes) and enable direct access to valuable oxetanes from widely available inactivated alcohol substrates.

These novel methodologies aim to open new opportunities in organic chemistry, streamlining synthetic sequences and extending the chemical space available to scientists for the design of novel pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals and functional materials.

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