Furan-Indole-Chromenone-based structures: a new family of organic photocatalysts for radical transformations in fine chemistry

Over the last decade, photoredox processes have received increasing attention due to their numerous applications, including organic synthesis, polymer chemistry, and solar fuels. More particularly, visible light photoredox catalysis is now recognized as an essential and useful tool in organic synthesis enabling the construction of a wide range of complex molecular structures under mild conditions. In most visible light photocatalyzed reactions, the activation mode involves a photocatalyst (PC) in its excited state being able to donate or accept an electron from a substrate to generate radical species. Until recently, ruthenium- and iridium-based PCs were the most representative ones in this field, they allowed the development of original efficient methodologies in organic chemistry. However, the major drawbacks of these catalysts lie in their high cost (in particular for Ir-based PCs) and the impossibility in most cases to recover them for reuse. Therefore, the need to find more environmentally sustainable and economically viable PCs, free of toxic or rare metals that must be preserved, is currently of high interest.

The aim of this project is to develop a new family of recyclable and polyvalent organic photosensitive compounds, based on recent results obtained in our laboratory,2 bearing indole, furan, and 2H-chromene- 2-one (coumarin) units with large redox windows accessible using simple visible light irradiation sources (CFL or LED), able to act, thanks to their high excited state redox potentials (E*red above + 2 V and/or E*ox below − 2 V vs. SCE), as an universal family of PCs for extreme and opposite thermodynamic demanding redox reactions in fine chemistry.

La recherche à l’Institut de Chimie Radicalaire se concentre sur les composés porteurs d’électrons non appariés. Nous maîtrisons leur structure à travers la synthèse, la caractérisation et les simulations pour accéder à un large éventail d’applications, des matériaux avancés aux utilisations thérapeutiques.

objectif de l'équipe CMO: Développement de nouvelles méthodologies de synthèse impliquant des intermédiaires radicalaires et étude du comportement des radicaux dans un environnement contrôlé. Photocatalyse Redox

The candidate must have a solid background in organic chemistry, and training in radical synthesis would be appreciated.