Hydrogen atom transfer (HAT) hydrogenation has recently emerged as an indispensable method for the chemoselective reduction of unactivated alkenes. However, the hitherto reported systems basically require stoichiometric amounts of silanes and peroxides, which prevents wider applications, especially with respect to sustainability and safety concerns. Herein, we report a silane- and peroxide-free HAT hydrogenation using a combined cobalt/photoredox catalysis and ascorbic acid (vitamin C) as a sole stoichiometric reactant. A cobalt salophen complex is identified as the optimal cocatalyst for this environmentally benign HAT hydrogenation in aqueous media, which exhibits high functional-group tolerance. In addition to its applicability in the late-stage hydrogenation of amino-acid derivatives and drug molecules, this method offers unique advantage in direct transformation of unprotected sugar derivatives and allows the HAT hydrogenation of unprotected C-glycoside in higher yield compared to previously reported HAT hydrogenation protocols. The proposed mechanism is supported by experimental and theoretical studies.

Due to its mild reaction conditions and unique chemoselectivity, hydrogen atom transfer (HAT) hydrogenation represents an indispensable method for the synthesis of complex molecules. Its analog using deuterium, deuterium atom transfer (DAT) deuteration, is expected to enable access to complex deuterium-labeled compounds. However, DAT deuteration has been scarcely studied for synthetic purposes, and a method that possesses the favorable characteristics of HAT hydrogenations has remained elusive. Herein, we report a protocol for the photocatalytic DAT deuteration of electron-deficient alkenes. In contrast to the previous DAT deuteration, this method tolerates a variety of synthetically useful functional groups including haloarenes. The late-stage deuteration also allows access to deuterated amino acids as well as donepezil-d 2 . Thus, this work demonstrates the potential of DAT chemistry to become the alternative method of choice for preparing deuterium-containing molecules.

Intramolecular hydroarylation of alkenes through hydrogen atom transfer (HAT) represents a robust method to prepare benzo-fused heterocycles. However, the reported methods have limitations in a variety of accessible cyclic scaffolds. Here we report a dual cobalt- and photoredox-catalyzed HAT hydroarylation of alkenes that is characterized by higher efficiency in the synthesis of a δ-lactam compared to established protocols. The proposed mechanism is supported by experiments and DFT calculations.

M-HAT isomerization is a highly reliable method to access thermodynamically stable alkenes with high functional group tolerance. However, synthesis of heteroatom-substituted alkenes by M-HAT isomerization reaction is still underdeveloped. Herein, we report an enamide synthesis using M-HAT via a combination of cobalt and photoredox catalysis. This method tolerates a variety of functional groups including haloarenes, heteroarenes, free hydroxy groups, non-protected indoles, and drug derivatives. Furthermore, this method can isomerize styrene derivatives in good yield and E/Z selectivity.

Due to its mild reaction conditions and unique chemoselectivity, hydrogen atom transfer (HAT) hydrogenation represents an indispensable method for the synthesis of complex molecules. Its analog using deuterium, deuterium atom transfer (DAT) deuteration, is expected to enable access to complex deuterium-labeled compounds. However, DAT deuteration has been scarcely studied for synthetic purposes, and a method that possesses the favorable characteristics of HAT hydrogenations has remained elusive. Herein, we report a protocol for the photocatalytic DAT deuteration of electron-deficient alkenes. In contrast to the previous DAT deuteration, this method tolerates a variety of synthetically useful functional groups including haloarenes. The late-stage deuteration also allows access to deuterated amino acids as well as donepezil-d 2 . Thus, this work demonstrates the potential of DAT chemistry to become the alternative method of choice for preparing deuterium-containing molecules.