The oxidation of the C−H bond received wide attention in organic synthesis and pharmaceutical chemistry due to its potential as one of the most straightforward and powerful methods to construct molecular scaffolds. The development of a green and efficient catalytic protocol for the oxidation of the sp 3 C−H bond is highly desirable. We described a light-induced synthetic strategy for benzyl oxidation. This approach featured characteristics of the use of Eosin Y as a photocatalyst, water as a solvent, and O 2 as an oxidant. A range of substrates with different functional groups were converted to aromatic ketones in moderate to high yields. The control experiments suggested that this reaction undergoes a single electron-transfer (SET) mechanism.

A variety of strategies for direct alkoxylation of the benzyl C−H bond have been developed toward the construction of benzyl ethers. The light-induced benzyl C−H bond alkoxylation provides an alternative strategy for the synthesis of these important intermediates. The photocatalyzed alkoxylation of the benzyl C−H bond has dominated by metal-catalyzed methods. Herein, we reported a light-driven organocatalytic approach for alkoxylation of the benzyl C−H bond by the use of 9,10-dibromoanthracene as a photocatalyst and employing N-fluorobenzenesulfonimide as an oxidant. This reaction proceeds at room temperature and is capable of converting a variety of alkyl biphenyl and coupling partners, including a variety of alcohol and carboxylic acid, as well as peroxide, to the desired products under 400 nm light irradiation.