Visible light-mediated, high-efficiency oxidation of benzyl to acetophenone catalyzed by fluorescein

An environmentally friendly aerobic oxidation of benzyl C(sp(3))-H bonds to ketones via selective oxidation catalysis was developed. Fluorescein is an efficient photocatalyst with excellent chemical selectivity. The reaction has a wide substrate scope, and a successful gram-scale experiment demonstrated its potential industrial utility. (C) 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.