Visible light-mediated oxidative quenching reaction to electron-rich epoxides: highly regioselective synthesis of α-bromo (di)ketones and mechanism study

A novel and simple procedure was developed for the regioselective synthesis of α-bromo (di)ketones from electron-rich epoxides via visible light photoredox catalysis. Through optimization of solvent and light source, the reaction can be rapidly achieved under mild conditions. Moreover, the possible reaction mechanism was proposed and further supported by control experiments.