Visible-light-enabled excited-state dearomatization reactions

Muzi Li1, Yuan-Zheng Cheng1, Shu-Li You1

  • 1New Cornerstone Science Laboratory, State Key Laboratory of Organometallic Chemistry, Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 345 Lingling Lu, Shanghai 200032, China.

Science Advances
|March 20, 2026
PubMed
Abstract

Related Concept Videos

Deactivation Processes: Jablonski Diagram01:25

Deactivation Processes: Jablonski Diagram

Luminescence, the emission of light by a substance that has absorbed energy, is a process that involves the interaction of molecules with light. The energy-level diagram, or Jablonski diagram, is a graphical representation of these interactions, illustrating the various states and transitions a molecule can undergo. In a typical Jablonski diagram, the lowest horizontal line represents the ground-state energy of the molecule, which is usually a singlet state. This state represents the energies...
2.2K
Photochemical Electrocyclic Reactions: Stereochemistry01:26

Photochemical Electrocyclic Reactions: Stereochemistry

The absorption of UV–visible light by conjugated systems causes the promotion of an electron from the ground state to the excited state. Consequently, photochemical electrocyclic reactions proceed via the excited-state HOMO rather than the ground-state HOMO. Since the ground- and excited-state HOMOs have different symmetries, the stereochemical outcome of electrocyclic reactions depends on the mode of activation; i.e., thermal or photochemical.
Selection Rules: Photochemical Activation
2.4K
Cycloaddition Reactions: MO Requirements for Photochemical Activation01:12

Cycloaddition Reactions: MO Requirements for Photochemical Activation

Some cycloaddition reactions are activated by heat, while others are initiated by light. For example, a [2 + 2] cycloaddition between two ethylene molecules occurs only in the presence of light. It is photochemically allowed but thermally forbidden.
2.8K
UV–Vis Spectroscopy: Molecular Electronic Transitions01:16

UV–Vis Spectroscopy: Molecular Electronic Transitions

In Ultraviolet–Visible (UV–Vis) spectroscopy, the absorption of electromagnetic radiation is used to probe the electronic structure of molecules. This technique provides insights into molecular electronic transitions, particularly the movement of electrons between different molecular orbitals. Radiation is absorbed if the energy of the electromagnetic radiation passing through the molecule is precisely equal to the energy difference between the excited and ground states. During this...
3.4K
Radical Formation: Homolysis00:54

Radical Formation: Homolysis

A bond is formed between two atoms by sharing two electrons. When this bond is broken by supplying sufficient energy, either two electrons can be taken up by one atom forming ions by the cleavage called heterolysis, or the two electrons are shared by two atoms, with one each creating radicals by the cleavage called homolysis.
4.6K
ortho–para-Directing Deactivators: Halogens01:24

orthopara-Directing Deactivators: Halogens

Halogens are ortho–para directors. They are more electronegative than carbon. Therefore, as ring substituents, they can withdraw electrons through the inductive effect and deactivate the aromatic ring towards electrophilic substitution. Halogens also have an electron-donating resonance effect on the ring, which influences the orientation of the incoming electrophile. If an electrophile attacks at the ortho or the para position, the halogen donates electrons and stabilizes the intermediate...
7.1K