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Updated: Oct 13, 2025

Synthesis of Esters Via a Greener Steglich Esterification in Acetonitrile
Published on: October 30, 2018
From Esters to Ketones via a Photoredox-Assisted Reductive Acyl Cross-Coupling Strategy
Xiaoxiang Xi1, Yixin Luo2, Weirong Li1
1Key Laboratory of Material Chemistry for Energy Conversion and Storage, Ministry of Education, Hubei Key Laboratory of Bioinorganic Chemistry and Materia Medica, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST), 1037 Luoyu Road, Wuhan, 430074, P. R. China.
Abstract:
A method was developed for ketone synthesis via a photoredox-assisted reductive acyl cross-coupling (PARAC) using a nickel/photoredox dual-catalyzed cross-electrophile coupling of two different carboxylic acid esters. A variety of aryl, 1°, 2°, 3°-alkyl 2-pyridyl esters can act as acyl electrophiles while N-(acyloxy)phthalimides (NHPI esters) act as 1°, 2°, 3°-radical precursors. Our PARAC strategy provides an alternative and reliable way to synthesize various sterically congested 3°-3°, 3°-2°, and aryl-3° ketones under mild and highly unified conditions, which have been otherwise difficult to access. The combined experimental and computational studies identified a Ni0 /NiI /NiIII pathway for ketone formation.
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