Green chemistry is an essential area of sustainable chemistry that aims to develop products that minimize hazardous effects onthe environment. Photochemistry plays an important role in green chemistry by utilizing the efficiency and conservation of photocatalysis of bringing reactions to completion. The reaction being analyzed is an atom-efficient, metal-free photochemical hydroacylation reaction initiated by phenylglyoxylic acid (PGA), a commercially available photoinitator.The focus of this study is to analyze trends in the product formation when the reaction is run in polar and nonpolar solvents; water, acetonitrile, 1-4 dioxane, and petroleum ether. The use of different solvents will also aim to minimize the effects of emulsions during the reaction, allowing visible light to catalyze the reactions to completion and increase the rate of product formation. We will be comparing all four of the solvents in the reaction of the same aldehyde and olefin; cyclohexanecarboxaldehyde and diethyl maleate. We will be using the commercially available LED photochemical equipment for conducting the photochemical reaction, as well as gas chromatography and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) for data analysis.

Solvent effects of photochemical hydroacylation reactions

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