Selective organic transformations on titanium oxide-based photocatalysts

This article reviews recent advances in selective organic transformations, both in gas and liquid media, using titanium oxide-based photocatalysts. Several photocatalytic reactions, such as oxidation, reduction, and Coupling reactions, proceed highly efficiently and selectively without requiring harmful and dangerous chemical reagents and without harmful byproducts. In addition, multistep processes usually required for conventional synthesis of various kinds of valuable compounds can be simplified to a one-pot reaction when in photocatalytic systems. Photocatalytic transformations will therefore play a very important role for organic synthesis in an economically and environmentally friendly way. This review article demonstrates that titanium oxide-based photocatalysts have a great potential as a versatile tool in "green" organic synthesis. (c) 2008 Elsevier B,V. All rights reserved.