<p>Singlet oxygen (<sup>1</sup>O<sub>2</sub>), a widely used reactive oxygen species (ROS) in industry and biomedical applications, plays a fundamental role throughout nature. We report a novel method to generate <sup>1</sup>O<sub>2</sub>selectively and efficiently through copper-based Fenton chemistry under circumneutral conditions enhanced by chloride as co-catalyst, with reactivity completely different than that observed in classical iron-based Fenton chemistry. The mechanism of its formation was elucidated through the kinetic studies of orthogonally reactive reporter molecules, i.e., singlet oxygen sensor green, 4-hydroxy-2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine, and phenol, and selective ROS quenchers. This method selectively generates <sup>1</sup>O<sub>2</sub><i>in situ</i>neither relying on photosensitization nor resulting in side reactions, and together with the mechanistic understanding of the Cu-Fenton reaction, not only opens new possibilities in many industries, such as organic synthesis and antimicrobial treatments, but also provides insight into Cu and H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub>containing chemical, environmental, and biological systems.</p>
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.