Photochemical synthesis

Abstract

Photochemical reactions are generally easily carried out, at least in laboratory scale, and require no expensive apparatus. Some general reactions, e.g. the cycloaddition of enones to alkenes and various oxygenations have been extensively investigated and represent an excellent choice for preparative applications. Many other possibilities are known-and a few are presented below. This suggests that photochemical steps should be considered more often in synthetic planning.