Ruthenium and iridium polypyridine complexes are among the most employed photocatalysts described in literature. The broad applicability is due to the redox potentials and long half-life times of the excited state which these molecules presented. The pursuit for metal-free alternatives has been intensified in the last few years, therefore, many organic fluorophores were successfully employed as photocatalysts. Among them, 1,2,3,5-tetrakis(carbazol-9-yl)-4,6-dicianobenzene (4CzIPN) recently drawn attention of the community, and it’s been widely employed by distinguished research groups. Recent studies have shown that this catalyst do not only present similar properties to transition metal complexes, but also, its synthesis can be accomplished more easily and less expensive when compared with the metallic photocatalysts above mentioned. Therefore, 4CzIPN constitutes a metal-free alternative to replace transition metal complexes in conventional photochemical protocols. Moreover, it’s as a powerful ally in the development of new photochemical approaches. In this work, we aim to summarize recent applications of 4CzIPN as catalyst in the emerging field of redox photocatalysis.

Neste trabalho, o emprego de cloreto férrico como um eficiente catalisador em reações de glicosilação de açúcares na presença de álcoois alílicos e propargílicos é descrito. Os glicosídios correspondentes foram obtidos com rendimentos de moderados a bons. Este novo procedimento apresenta maior seletividade quando comparado a métodos clássicos encontrados na literatura. As principais características desse método simples incluem condições de reação não perigosas, quantidade de catalisador baixa, bom rendimento e seletividade anomérico elevada.

In this work, the use of ferric chloride as an efficient catalyst in glycosylation reactions of sugars in the presence of allyl and alkynyl alcohols is described. The corresponding glycosides were obtained with moderate to good yields. This new procedure presented greater selectivity when compared to classic methods found in the literature. Principal features of this simple method include non-hazardous reaction conditions, low-catalyst loading, good yields and high anomeric selectivity.

A transmetalação entre boro e zinco apresenta uma grande importância para diversas aplicações em síntese orgânica, uma vez que permite a formação de novas ligações carbono-carbono entre reagentes organometálicos e espécies eletrofílicas. A arilação direta de aldeídos e, mais raramente de cetonas, de maneira catalítica e enantiosseletiva, empregando catalisadores quirais, têm sido descrita recentemente. Os diaril metanóis opticamente enriquecidos, obtidos nessas reações são precursores valiosos para a síntese de moléculas bioativas. O presente trabalho apresenta uma revisão sobre essa crescente área de atuação e destaca alguns dos desafios que ainda permanecem.

The transmetalation between boron and zinc is of great importance for application in organic synthesis, since it allows the formation of new carbon-carbon bonds between organometallic units and electrophiles. The direct arylation of aldehydes or more scarcely ketones, in a catalytic, enantioselective manner using chiral catalysts has been described recently. The enantiomerically enriched diarylmethanols obtained in these reactions are valuable precursors for important bioactive molecules. This review provides a synopsis of this ever-growing field and highlights some of the challenges that still remain.