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Updated: Dec 27, 2025

Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization of Functionalized Vinyl Monomers Using Perylene as a Visible Light Photocatalyst
Published on: April 22, 2016
Aminoalkyl radicals as halogen-atom transfer agents for activation of alkyl and aryl halides
Timothée Constantin1, Margherita Zanini1, Alessio Regni1
1Department of Chemistry, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, UK.
Abstract:
Organic halides are important building blocks in synthesis, but their use in (photo)redox chemistry is limited by their low reduction potentials. Halogen-atom transfer remains the most reliable approach to exploit these substrates in radical processes despite its requirement for hazardous reagents and initiators such as tributyltin hydride. In this study, we demonstrate that α-aminoalkyl radicals, easily accessible from simple amines, promote the homolytic activation of carbon-halogen bonds with a reactivity profile mirroring that of classical tin radicals. This strategy conveniently engages alkyl and aryl halides in a wide range of redox transformations to construct sp3-sp3, sp3-sp2, and sp2-sp2 carbon-carbon bonds under mild conditions with high chemoselectivity.
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