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Beyond single pathways: synergistic SET-EnT pathways in visible-light photochemistry
Bao-Gui Cai1, Qiang Wang2, Jun Xuan1,3
1Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Chemistry for Inorganic/Organic Hybrid Functionalized Materials, College of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, Anhui University, Hefei, Anhui 230601, People's Republic of China. xuanjun@ahu.edu.cn.
Chemical Society Reviews
|March 4, 2026
Summary
Synergistic catalysis combines single-electron transfer (SET) and energy transfer (EnT) under visible light. This dual-mode approach unlocks new reactivity and selectivity in organic synthesis, enabling complex bond construction efficiently.
Area of Science:
- Organic Chemistry
- Photocatalysis
- Synthetic Methodology
Background:
- Visible-light photocatalysis traditionally uses single-electron transfer (SET) or energy transfer (EnT) independently.
- Combining SET and EnT offers enhanced reactivity and selectivity beyond individual modes.
- Synergistic SET-EnT catalysis enables complex transformations under mild conditions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To outline the mechanistic foundations of cooperative SET-EnT photocatalysis.
- To summarize representative photocatalysts for dual-mode systems.
- To provide guidelines for catalyst selection based on excited-state properties.
Main Methods:
- Review of literature on SET-EnT synergistic catalysis.
- Analysis of photocatalyst excited-state redox potentials and triplet energies.
- Categorization of reactions based on the interplay between SET and EnT.
Main Results:
- Demonstration of SET-initiated followed by EnT sequences.
- Illustration of EnT-initiated followed by SET sequences.
- Examples of coupled SET and EnT without a defined sequence.
Conclusions:
- Deliberate integration of SET and EnT significantly expands synthetic utility.
- Dual-mode photocatalysis enables outcomes difficult to achieve with single-manifold systems.
- SET-EnT synergistic catalysis represents a powerful paradigm for multistep bond construction.
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