We established a new visible-light-mediated protocol for the regioselective β-hydroxyselenylation of olefins, employing benzeneseleninic acid as substrate. Regarding a novel approach, the benzeneseleninic acid emerges as an efficient and affordable reagent to be used as an electrophilic selenium source that can be easily converted to selenium-based radical species under visible-light conditions. In this sense, the photocatalytically formed PhSe• radical can react directly with unsaturated substrates, including alkenes, to access a new C–Se bond and a carbon-centered radical intermediate, which finally is trapped by a hydroxyl radical species, delivering the β-hydroxyselanyl compounds. Thus, despite the versatile utilities in organic synthesis, such as building blocks, the β-hydroxyselanyl compounds have demonstrated important biological activities. Based on that, we concentrated our efforts on developing a robust, effective, and environmentally benign methodology for their preparation. The optimal condition involves the reaction between styrene and 1.0 equivalent of phenylseleninic acid, in the presence of 5.0 mol% of eosin Y, as a cheap and easily available photocatalyst, with DMSO promoting the reaction medium. Satisfactorily, the system was irradiated with blue LED light for 2 h, to deliver the desired products in good yields.
Light-Driven Depolymerization of Native Lignin Enabled by Proton- Coupled Electron Transfer