Visible light-mediated hydrogen atom transfer and proton transfer for the conversion of (2-vinylaryl)methanol derivatives to aryl aldehydes or aryl ketones†

In this paper, we report a photochemical strategy for the visible light-mediated efficient conversion of (2-vinylaryl)methanol derivatives to the corresponding aryl aldehydes or aryl ketones in moderate to excellent yields with broad substrate scope under mild conditions. This photochemical process takes place from the generation of the triplet state of olefins and involves 1,5-hydrogen atom transfer, enol tautomerization, and a subsequent proton transfer process. The plausible reaction mechanism has been verified by deuterium labeling and control experiments, kinetic and Stern–Volmer analyses, and DFT calculations.