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2+2 Photocycloaddition, for example, the dimerization of chalcones and cinnamic acid derivatives, is a unique strategy to construct cyclobutanes, which are building blocks for a variety of biologically active molecules and natural products. However, most attempts at the above 2+2 addition have focused on solid-state, molten-state, or host-guest systems under ultraviolet-light irradiation in order to overcome the competition of facile geometric isomerization of nonrigid olefins. We report a general and simple method to realize the intermolecular 2+2 dimerization reaction of these acyclic olefins to construct cyclobutanes in a highly regio- and diastereoselective manner in solution under visible light, which provides an efficient solution to a long-standing problem.
Lei et al. (Tue,) studied this question.