Light-Driven Photocatalyst-Free Synthesis of β, δ-Functionalized Ketones from Aldehydes.

The synthesis of ketones has been a long focus of chemistry research, on account of its unique reactivity. Herein, we report a simple light-driven photocatalyst-free synthesis of β, δ-functionalized ketones from aldehydes, using inexpensive and commercially abundant feedstock chemicals. This reaction is enabled by the direct acyl radical generation via hydrogen atom transfer and the subsequent radical addition process, avoiding the need for prefunctionalized substrates and organometallic reagent.