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Shedding Light on Synthetic Autocatalysis: From Conventional Closed-Shell Chemistries to Overlooked Open-Shell
Jaspreet Kaur1, Joshua P Barham1,2
1Fakultät für Chemie und Pharmazie, Universität Regensburg, Universitätsstraße 31, 93053, Regensburg, Germany.
Chemistry (Weinheim an Der Bergstrasse, Germany)
|October 1, 2025
Summary
Autocatalysis, where a product speeds up its own creation, is key in biology and offers efficient synthetic pathways. This review explores diverse autocatalytic reactions for organic synthesis and catalysis.
Area of Science:
- Organic Chemistry
- Chemical Kinetics
- Catalysis
Background:
- Autocatalysis describes reactions where products catalyze their own formation, often showing sigmoidal kinetics.
- This phenomenon is crucial in biological systems, including the origin of life.
- While prevalent in biology, synthetic applications of autocatalysis are less explored but offer high efficiency.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review diverse synthetic examples of autocatalysis across various mechanistic paradigms.
- To highlight recent advances in radical- and photochemistry-based autocatalytic systems, including auto-photocatalysis.
- To showcase the potential of autocatalysis for improving reaction efficiency and inspiring new catalytic methodologies.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of synthetic autocatalytic reactions.
- Categorization of examples based on mechanistic paradigms (e.g., Soai reaction, radical, photochemical).
- Emphasis on emerging trends like auto-photocatalysis.
Main Results:
- Diverse synthetic autocatalytic reactions are identified across multiple fields.
- Well-established examples like the Soai reaction and novel radical/photochemical systems are discussed.
- Recent progress in auto-photocatalysis demonstrates expanding applications.
Conclusions:
- Autocatalysis provides a unique and efficient mechanism for organic synthesis.
- Further research into autocatalysis can lead to improved reaction efficiency and novel catalytic strategies.
- This review underscores the broad potential and variety of autocatalytic reactions in synthesis.
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