Physics

Electron

Dipole

Organic chemistry

Combinatorial chemistry

Electron transfer

Radical

Catalysis

Excited state

Atomic physics

Chemistry

Condensed matter physics

Electron donor

Acceptor

Electron acceptor

Quantum mechanics

Ground state

Photochemistry

Beilstein Journal of Organic Chemistry

The reversible, weak ground-state aggregate formed by dipole–dipole interactions between an electron donor and an electron acceptor is referred to as an electron-donor–acceptor (EDA) complex. Generally, upon light irradiation, the EDA complex turns into the excited state, causing an electron transfer to give radicals and to initiate subsequent reactions. Besides light as an external energy source, reactions involving the participation of EDA complexes are mild, obviating transition metal catalysts or photosensitizers in the majority of cases and are in line with the theme of green chemistry. This review discusses the synthetic reactions concerned with EDA complexes as well as the mechanisms that have been shown over the past five years.

Synthetic reactions driven by electron-donor–acceptor (EDA) complexes