Visible Light Induced Organophotoredox Catalyzed β-Hydroxytrifluoromethylation of Unactivated Alkenes

Herein, we report a mild transition metal-free organophotoredox catalyzed approach for β-hydroxytrifluoromethylation of unactivated alkenes using CF3SO2Na and acridinium salt. The protocol is compatible with various mono, di- and tri-substituted aliphatic unactivated alkenes containing numerous functional groups and natural product derivatives. Further, the post-synthetic modifications of synthesized trifluoromethylated products have been demonstrated through cross-coupling and functional group interconversion reactions. The method proved to be scalable and also it works smoothly un-der direct exposure of sunlight. A plausible mechanism has been proposed based on fluorescence quenching experiment and cyclic voltammetry analysis.