Abstract Here, we report CdS quantum dot (QD) gels, a three‐dimensional network of interconnected CdS QDs, as a new type of direct hydrogen atom transfer (d‐HAT) photocatalyst for C−H activation. We discovered that the photoexcited CdS QD gel could generate various neutral radicals, including α‐amido, heterocyclic, acyl, and benzylic radicals, from their corresponding stable molecular substrates, including amides, thio/ethers, aldehydes, and benzylic compounds. Its C−H activation ability imparts a broad substrate and reaction scope. The mechanistic study reveals that this reactivity is intrinsic to CdS materials, and the neutral radical generation did not proceed via the conventional sequential electron transfer and proton transfer pathway. Instead, the C−H bonds are activated by the photoexcited CdS QD gel via a d‐HAT mechanism. This d‐HAT mechanism is supported by the linear correlation between the logarithm of the C−H bond activation rate constant and the C−H bond dissociation energy (BDE) with a Brønsted slopeα=0.5. Our findings expand the currently limited direct hydrogen atom transfer photocatalysis toolbox and provide new possibilities for photocatalytic C−H activation. 
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                            Generation of Diazomethyl Radicals by Hydrogen Atom Abstraction and Their Cycloaddition with Alkenes
                        
                    
    
            Abstract A general catalytic methodology for the synthesis of pyrazolines from α‐diazo compounds and conjugated alkenes is reported. The direct hydrogen atom transfer (HAT) process of α‐diazo compounds promoted by thetert‐butylperoxy radical generates electrophilic diazomethyl radicals, thereby reversing the reactivity of the carbon atom attached with the diazo group. The regiocontrolled addition of diazomethyl radicals to carbon‐carbon double bonds followed by intramolecular ring closure on the terminal diazo nitrogen and tautomerization affords a diverse set of pyrazolines in good yields with excellent regioselectivity. This strategy overcomes the limitations of electron‐deficient alkenes in traditional dipolar [3+2]‐cycloaddition of α‐diazo compounds with alkenes. Furthermore, the straightforward formation of the diazomethyl radicals provides umpolung reactivity, thus opening new opportunities for the versatile transformations of diazo compounds. 
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                            - Award ID(s):
- 1920057
- PAR ID:
- 10275383
- Publisher / Repository:
- Wiley Blackwell (John Wiley & Sons)
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Angewandte Chemie International Edition
- Volume:
- 60
- Issue:
- 34
- ISSN:
- 1433-7851
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- p. 18484-18488
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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