Results of the latest research by Prof Marek Sikorski's team from the AMU Faculty of Chemistry and Prof Radek Cibulka's group from the University of Chemistry and Technology in Prague have been published in the prestigious journal Chemical Science, issued by the Royal Society of Chemistry. It is a remarkable distinction as the journal is the flagship title of this organisation.
In the article, the researchers describe the novel use of flavin anions in photoredox catalysis. The 3-methylolumichrome anion has a crucial role in this process. Its deprotonation generates a 10-H-isoalloxazine anion, which becomes a robust reducing compound following excitation with blue or cyan light. The anion facilitates the catalytic reductive dehalogenation or light-catalysed phosphonylation of bromobenzonitrile. Compared to other flavin-based photoreducers, the oxidised flavin anion shows several advantages: exceptional stability (even under aerobic conditions), absorption in the visible range and a long-lived singlet excited state.
The research is part of a project under the international grant WEAVE UNISONO UMO-2023/05/Y/ST4/00062, funded by the National Science Centre.
Access article link: Introduction of flavin anions into photoredox catalysis: acid-base equilibria of lumichrome allow photoreductions with anion of an eluting 10-unsubstituted isoalloxazine
Graphic source: https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2025/sc/d