Recent advancements in the development of molecular organic photocatalysts

Research in the development of molecular organic photocatalysts for applications in chemical syntheses has burgeoned in recent years. While organic photosensitizers have been known for over a century, tuning the properties of these molecules to increase photocatalytic efficiencies is now of growing importance. The properties that help improve the performance of organic photocatalysts include: a wider range of redox potentials, increased molar absorptivity (epsilon) in the visible spectrum, increased quantum yields (phi), long-lived excited-state lifetimes (ns to mu s), and increased chemical stability. This review examines some of the recent advancements in the development of molecular organic photocatalysts, specifically cyanoarenes, acridinium dyes, phenazines, thiazines, oxazines, and xanthenes, with respect to these properties and examines the chemical synthesis routes now achieved by organic photocatalysts.