Asymmetric Dual Catalytic Processes: Transition Metal Catalysis and Photoredox Catalysis

Abstract

Transition metal catalysis is one of the most important tools for constructing carbon–carbon and carbon-heteroatom bonds in modern organic synthesis. Visible-light photoredox catalysis has recently drawn considerable attention from the scientific community owing to its unique activation modes and significance for green chemistry. The merger of photoredox catalysis with transition metal catalysts, termed metallaphotoredox catalysis, has become a popular strategy for expanding the synthetic utility of visible-light photocatalysis. This strategy has led to the discovery of novel asymmetric transformations, which were unfeasible or not easily accessible by a single catalytic system. This contemporary area of organic chemistry holds promises for the development of economical and environmentally friendly methods for the asymmetric synthesis of chiral compounds. In this review, the advances in enantioselective metallaphotoredox catalysis are summarized with a selection of outstanding articles published since 2014. To be more concise, we selected only three transition metals which are synergistically working with a concomitant photocatalyst. In the literature beautiful reviews are known using Ni, Pd, Cu or other metals, thus it remains important to see these reviews to have an exhaustive overview of each metal implied in enantioselective reactions. That is why we selected articles that are representative for Ni, Pd and Cu which are currently the most used.