Photoredox catalysis is a branch of photochemistry that uses single-electron transfer. Photoredox catalysts are generally drawn from three classes of materials: transition-metal complexes, organic dyes, and semiconductors. While organic photoredox catalysts were dominant throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, soluble transition-metal complexes are more commonly used today.
Photochemistry of transition metal sensitizers.
Sensitizers absorb light to give redox-active excited states. For many metal-based sensitizers, excitation is realized as a metal-to-ligand charge transfer, whereby an electron moves from the metal (e.g., a d orbital) to an orbital localized on the ligands (e.g. the π* orbital of an aromatic ligand). This initial excited electronic state relaxes to a singlet excited state through internal conversion, a process where energy is dissipated as vibrational energy (heat) rather than as electromagnetic radiation. This singlet excited state can relax further by two distinct processes: the catalyst may fluoresce, radiating a photon and returning to the original singlet ground state, or it can move to the lowest energy triplet excited state (a state where two unpaired electrons have the same spin) by a second non-radiative process termed intersystem crossing.
Direct relaxation of the excited triplet to the ground state, termed phosphorescence, requires both emission of a photon and inversion of the spin of the excited electron. This pathway is slow because it is spin-forbidden so the triplet excited state has a substantial average lifetime. For the common photosensitizer, tris-(2,2’-bipyridyl)ruthenium (abbreviated as [Ru(bipy)3]2+ or [Ru(bpy)3]2+), the lifetime of the triplet excited state is approximately 1100 ns. This lifetime is sufficient for other relaxation pathways (specifically, electron-transfer pathways) to occur before decay of the catalyst to its ground state.
The long-lived triplet excited state accessible by photoexcitation is both a more potent reducing agent and a more potent oxidizing agent than the ground state of the catalyst. Since sensitizer is coordinatively saturated, electron transfer must occur by an outer sphere process, where the electron tunnels between the catalyst and the substrate.
Outer sphere electron transfer.
Marcus' theory of outer sphere electron transfer predicts that such a tunneling process will occur most quickly in systems where the electron transfer is thermodynamically favorable (i.e. between strong reductants and oxidants) and where the electron transfer has a low intrinsic barrier.
The intrinsic barrier of electron transfer derives from the Franck–Condon principle, stating that electronic transition takes place more quickly given greater overlap between the initial and final electronic states. Interpreted loosely, this principle suggests that the barrier of an electronic transition is related to the degree to which the system seeks to reorganize. For an electronic transition with a system, the barrier is related to the "overlap" between the initial and final wave functions of the excited electron–i.e. the degree to which the electron needs to "move" in the transition.
In an intermolecular electron transfer, a similar role is played by the degree to which the nuclei seek to move in response to the change in their new electronic environment. Immediately after electron transfer, the nuclear arrangement of the molecule, previously an equilibrium, now represents a vibrationally excited state and must relax to its new equilibrium geometry. Rigid systems, whose geometry is not greatly dependent on oxidation state, therefore experience less vibrational excitation during electron transfer, and have a lower intrinsic barrier. Photocatalysts such as [Ru(bipy)3]2+, are held in a rigid arrangement by flat, bidentate ligands arranged in an octahedral geometry around the metal center. Therefore, the complex does not undergo much reorganization during electron transfer. Since electron transfer of these complexes is fast, it is likely to take place within the duration of the catalyst's active state, i.e. during the lifetime of the triplet excited state.
Catalyst regeneration.
To regenerate the ground state, the catalyst must participate in a second outer-sphere electron transfer. In many cases, this electron transfer takes place with a stoichiometric two-electron reductant or oxidant, although in some cases this step involves a second reagent.
Since the electron transfer step of the catalytic cycle takes place from the triplet excited state, it competes with phosphorescence as a relaxation pathway. Stern–Volmer experiments measure the intensity of phosphorescence while varying the concentration of each possible quenching agent. When the concentration of the actual quenching agent is varied, the rate of electron transfer and the degree of phosphorescence is affected. This relationship is modeled by the equation:
formula_1
Here, I and I0 denote the emission intensity with and without quenching agent present, kq the rate constant of the quenching process, τ0 the excited-state lifetime in the absence of quenching agent and [Q] the concentration of quenching agent. Thus, if the excited-state lifetime of the photoredox catalyst is known from other experiments, the rate constant of quenching in the presence of a single reaction component can be determined by measuring the change in emission intensity as the concentration of quenching agent changes.
Photophysical properties.
Redox potentials.
The redox potentials of photoredox catalysts must be matched to the reaction's other components. While ground state redox potentials are easily measured by cyclic voltammetry or other electrochemical methods, measuring the redox potential of an electronically excited state cannot be accomplished directly by these methods. However, two methods exist that allow estimation of the excited-state redox potentials and one method exists for the direct measurement of these potentials. To estimate the excited-state redox potentials, one method is to compare the rates of electron transfer from the excited state to a series of ground-state reactants whose redox potentials are known. A more common method to estimate these potentials is to use an equation developed by Rehm and Weller that describes the excited-state potentials as a correction of the ground-state potentials:
formula_2
formula_3
In these formulas, E*1/2 represents the reduction or oxidation potential of the excited state, E1/2 represents the reduction or oxidation potential of the ground state, E0,0 represents the difference in energy between the zeroth vibrational states of the ground and excited states and wr represents the work function, an electrostatic interaction that arises due to the separation of charges that occurs during electron-transfer between two chemical species. The zero-zero excitation energy, E0,0 is usually approximated by the corresponding transition in the fluorescence spectrum. This method allows calculation of approximate excited-state redox potentials from more easily measured ground-state redox potentials and spectroscopic data.
Direct measurement of the excited-state redox potentials is possible by applying a method known as phase-modulated voltammetry. This method works by shining light onto an electrochemical cell in order to generate the desired excited-state species, but to modulate the intensity of the light sinusoidally, so that the concentration of the excited-state species is not constant. In fact, the concentration of excited-state species in the cell should change exactly in phase with the intensity of light incident on the electrochemical cell. If the potential applied to the cell is strong enough for electron transfer to occur, the change in concentration of the redox-competent excited state can be measured as an alternating current (AC). Furthermore, the phase shift of the AC current relative to the intensity of the incident light corresponds to the average lifetime of an excited-state species before it engages in electron transfer.
Charts of redox potentials for the most common photoredox catalysts are available for quick access.
Ligand electronegativity.
The relative reducing and oxidizing natures of these photocatalysts can be understood by considering the ligands' electronegativity and the catalyst complex's metal center. More electronegative metals and ligands can stabilize electrons better than their less electronegative counterparts. Therefore, complexes with more electronegative ligands are more oxidizing than less electronegative ligand complexes. For example, the ligands 2,2'-bipyridine and 2,2'-phenylpyridine are isoelectronic structures, containing the same number and arrangement of electrons. Phenylpyridine replaces one of the nitrogen atoms in bipyridine with a carbon atom. Carbon is less electronegative than nitrogen is, so it holds electrons less tightly. Since the remainder of the ligand molecule is identical and phenylpyridine holds electrons less tightly than bipyridine, it is more strongly electron-donating and less electronegative as a ligand. Hence, complexes with phenylpyridine ligands are more strongly reducing and less strongly oxidizing than equivalent complexes with bipyridine ligands.
Similarly, a fluorinated phenylpyridine ligand is more electronegative than phenylpyridine so complexes with fluorine-containing ligands are more strongly oxidizing and less strongly reducing than equivalent unsubstituted phenylpyridine complexes. The metal center's electronic influence on the complex is more complex than the ligand effect. According to the Pauling scale of electronegativity, both ruthenium and iridium have an electronegativity of 2.2. If this was the sole factor relevant to redox potentials, then complexes of ruthenium and iridium with the same ligands should be equally powerful photoredox catalysts. However, considering the Rehm-Weller equation, the spectroscopic properties of the metal play a role in determining the redox properties of the excited state. In particular, the parameter E0,0 is related to the emission wavelength of the complex and therefore, to the size of the Stokes shift - the difference in energy between the maximum absorption and emission of a molecule. Typically, ruthenium complexes have large Stokes shifts and hence, low energy emission wavelengths and small zero-zero excitation energies when compared to iridium complexes. In effect, while ground-state ruthenium complexes can be potent reductants, the excited-state complex is a far less potent reductant or oxidant than its equivalent iridium complex. This makes iridium preferred for the development of general organic transformations because the stronger redox potentials of the excited catalyst allows the use of weaker stoichiometric reductants and oxidants or the use of less reactive substrates.
Counter-ion identity
It is often the case that these photocatalysts are balanced with a counter-ion, as is the case with the example complex tris-(2,2’-bipyridyl)ruthenium which is accompanied by two anions to balance the overall charge of the ion pair to zero. However, there are transition metal photoredox catalysts that exist without a counter-ion such as tris(2-phenylpyridine)iridium (often abbreviated Ir(ppy)3). The significance of these counter-ions are dependent on the ion association between the photoredox catalyst and its counter-ion(s) and is dependent on the solvent used for the reaction. Although photophysical properties such as redox potential, excitation energy, and ligand electronegative have often been considered key parameters for the use and reactivity of these complexes, counter-ion identity has been shown to play a significant role in low-polarity solvents. Particularly, it has been shown that having a tightly associated counter-ion increases the rate of electron-transfer when reducing a substrate but significantly reduces the rate of electron-transfer when oxidizing a substrate. This is believed to occur because the counter-ion essentially "blocks" the electron-transfer into the photoredox complex by shielding the more positively charged region of the complex; whereas, having the tight counter-ion association pushes the electron density further from the photoredox catalyst's metal-center, making it easier to be transferred from the catalyst (of course this only applies to the case where the photoredox catalyst is a cation and the counter-ion is an anion). Counter-ion identity thus is an additional parameter to consider when developing new photoredox reactions. 
Applications.
Reductive dehalogenation.
The earliest application of photoredox catalysis to Reductive dehalogenation were limited by narrow substrate scope or competing reductive coupling.
Unactivated carbon-iodine bonds can be reduced using the strongly reducing photocatalyst tris-(2,2’-phenylpyridine)iridium (Ir(ppy)3). The increased reduction potential of Ir(ppy)3 compared to [Ru(bipy)3]2+ allows direct reduction of the carbon-iodine bond without interacting with a stoichiometric reductant. Thus, the iridium complex transfers an electron to the substrate, causing fragmentation of the substrate and oxidizing the catalyst to the Ir(IV) oxidation state. The oxidized photocatalyst is returned to its original oxidation state by oxidising a reaction additives.
Like tin-mediated radical dehalogenation reactions, photocatalytic reductive dehalogenation can be used to initiate cascade cyclizations
Oxidative generation of iminium ions.
Iminium ions are potent electrophiles useful for generating C-C bonds in complex molecules. However, the condensation of amines with carbonyl compounds to form iminium ions is often unfavorable, sometimes requiring harsh dehydrating conditions. Thus, alternative methods for iminium ion generation, particularly by oxidation from the corresponding amine, are a valuable synthesis tool. Iminium ions can be generated from activated amines using Ir(dtbbpy)(ppy)2PF6 as a photoredox catalyst. This transformation is proposed to occur by oxidation of the amine to the aminium radical cation by the excited photocatalyst. This is followed by hydrogen atom transfer to a superstoichimetric oxidant, such as trichloromethyl radical (CCl3 to form the iminium ion). The iminium ion is then quenched by reaction with a nucleophile. Related transformations of amines with a wide variety of other nucleophiles have been investigated, such as cyanide (Strecker reaction), silyl enol ethers (Mannich reaction), dialkylphosphates, allyl silanes (aza-Sakurai reaction), indoles (Friedel-Crafts reaction), and copper