Sunlight-induced functionalisation reactions of heteroaromatic bases with aldehydes in the presence of TiO2: A hypothesis on the mechanism

In previous studies we reported a new photocatalytic system involving polycrystalline TiO2 for the selective functionalisation of heteroaromatic bases with ethers and amides. In order to extend the applications of this new reaction and to better understand the mechanism involved, we have examined aromatic and aliphatic aldehydes as acyl radical sources for the nucleophilic addition to protonated N-heteroarenes in acetonitrile as the solvent and TiO2/H2O2 as the photocatalytic system. Acyl radicals may undergo decarbonylation to yield the corresponding alkyl radicals. Acyl/alkyl derivative ratios depend on the nature of the aldehydes, and present a different distribution from that obtained i…