Coreactant Strategy for the Photoredox Catalytic Generation of Trifluoromethyl Radicals under Low-Energy Photoirradiation

Photoredox catalysis has emerged as a valuable alternative to dark-state catalysis. For the full potential of photoredox catalysis to be utilized, it is imperative to make use of low-energy photons in photoinduced radical processes. We have demonstrated that the use of oxalate as a coreactant provides a useful principle for the photocatalytic production of trifluoromethyl radicals (•CF₃) from CF₃I upon green or red LED photoirradiation of narrow-bandgap photocatalysts. The photocatalytic cycle involves a radical anion of carbon dioxide (CO₂^•-) as a reductant for CF₃I, which is generated through photoinduced oxidative decarboxylation of oxalate. Electrochemical characterizations and steady-state and transient photophysical investigations were performed to reveal that there are two photoinduced electron-transfer pathways for oxalate-mediated •CF₃ generation.