Photocatalytic Reductive Elimination From A Main Group Centre
Abstract
The development of “transition metal-like” reactivity using earth-abundant p-block elements is one of the most prominent and challenging goals of contemporary main group chemistry. This difficulty is exemplified by the key, catalytically relevant bond-forming step of reductive elimination which, while often facile for transition metals, is very difficult to achieve for most main group elements. Efforts to bridge this gap have typically focused on delicate tailoring of electronic structure, supporting ligands, and coordination geometry, a task that is conceptually difficult and synthetically demanding. Herein, we demonstrate an alternative approach. We show that photocatalytic reductive elimination from an already well-known P(V) complex can be achieved rapidly and under mild conditions, via a transient oxidation strategy analogous to “oxidatively induced reductive elimination”. This concept has previously been applied only to transition metal complexes but is now extended to the field of main group chemistry. These results demonstrate a simple, easily accessible, but potentially very powerful new strategy for ‘turbocharging’ transition metal-like reactivity at a main group centre. Thus, it provides a valuable new tool for the ongoing pursuit of transition metal-like catalysis using main group elements.
Related
- Ag(I)-Induced C-C Reductive Elimination from Pt(II): Role of Ag(I) and Counteranion.
- Reversible Site-Selective Editing of Atomically Precise Au6 Nanoclusters through Controlled Oxidative Addition/Reductive Elimination
- Hydridoaluminastibanes: A New Class of Al–Sb Bonded Main-Group Compound
- Metal-Free Photoinduced Divergent Activation of N2O and H2 Employing Main-Group Radical Pairs
- Main Group Metals in Redox Catalysis
BibTeX
@misc{mundy2026photocatalytic,
title = {{Photocatalytic Reductive Elimination From A Main Group Centre}},
author = {Matthew P. Mundy and Péter R. Nagy and Imre Pápai and Daniel J. Scott},
howpublished = {ChemRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.26434/chemrxiv.15006857/v2},
url = {https://chemrxiv.org/doi/full/10.26434/chemrxiv.15006857/v2},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Photocatalytic Reductive Elimination From A Main Group Centre
AU - Matthew P. Mundy
AU - Péter R. Nagy
AU - Imre Pápai
AU - Daniel J. Scott
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/23
PB - ChemRxiv
DO - 10.26434/chemrxiv.15006857/v2
UR - https://chemrxiv.org/doi/full/10.26434/chemrxiv.15006857/v2
AB - The development of “transition metal-like” reactivity using earth-abundant p-block elements is one of the most prominent and challenging goals of contemporary main group chemistry. This difficulty is exemplified by the key, catalytically relevant bond-forming step of reductive elimination which, while often facile for transition metals, is very difficult to achieve for most main group elements. Efforts to bridge this gap have typically focused on delicate tailoring of electronic structure, supporting ligands, and coordination geometry, a task that is conceptually difficult and synthetically demanding. Herein, we demonstrate an alternative approach. We show that photocatalytic reductive elimination from an already well-known P(V) complex can be achieved rapidly and under mild conditions, via a transient oxidation strategy analogous to “oxidatively induced reductive elimination”. This concept has previously been applied only to transition metal complexes but is now extended to the field of main group chemistry. These results demonstrate a simple, easily accessible, but potentially very powerful new strategy for ‘turbocharging’ transition metal-like reactivity at a main group centre. Thus, it provides a valuable new tool for the ongoing pursuit of transition metal-like catalysis using main group elements.
ER -