Visible light mediated sustainable transformation of α, β-unsaturated lactones

Abstract

Numerous methods are already available in the literature for synthesizing lactones. Techniques like Shiina macro lactonization, nucleophilic abstraction, and Yamaguchi esterification are particularly effective. In some cases, lactones such as γ-nonalactone, γ-octalactone, γ-undecalactone, and γ-decalactone can even be synthesized in a single step. Nowadays, visible light and photoredox catalysis have become a sustainable tool in organic chemistry, offering versatile and sustainable ways to form Carbon-Heteroatom bonds. Heterocyclic structures are commonly established in natural products, pharmaceuticals, and agrochemicals due to their wide range of biological activity, and a pharmacophoric lead molecule is present in the structural scaffolds. Light-mediated cyclization reactions—such as ring-opening and closure, electrocyclization, or intramolecular hydrogen abstraction—take advantage of the unique properties of photoexcited molecules.