Photoactivated ketones prove to be promising H-atom transfer photocatalysts for activating carboxylic acids and generating new C–C, C–S, and C–Cl bonds. Carboxylic acids are ubiquitous in bioactive organic molecules and readily available chemical building blocks. Carboxylic acids can be converted into carboxy radicals that can initiate versatile carbon-carbon and carbon-heteroatom bonds formations, which is highly desirable for developing materials and pharmaceuticals. Currently, however, there are few applicable methods that use inexpensive catalysts. To this end, researchers from WPI-ICReDD and University of Shizuoka have developed a facile hydrogen atom transfer (HAT) method that selectively transforms carboxylic acids into carboxy radicals using xanthone, an inexpensive commercial organic ketone photocatalyst. This research was … Continue reading Press Release Facile method for carboxylic acid activation using inexpensive commercial organic photocatalysts