Investigating the Effects of Pulsed LED Irradiation in Photoredox Catalysis: A Pilot Study

Abstract

This study examines the effects of pulsed light-emitting diode (LED) irradiation across five representative photoredox reactions employing six established photocatalysts. The primary objective of this investigation was to develop a better understanding of the potential effects and broader scope of pulsed irradiation in photoredox catalysis, which the results suggest may influence reaction progress positively, negatively, or negligibly. These effects appear to vary depending on the specific reaction, the identity of the photoredox catalyst and can even differ between substrates. Accordingly, unraveling the fundamental mechanistic basis of these effects is both challenging and nuanced; however, our results do highlight the importance of properly considering the Bunsen–Roscoe Law during photoredox reaction design.