Visible-light induced oxidation of thiols to disulfides using fluorescein as a metal free catalyst

Abstract

In this work, we describe a mild, affordable, and visible-light-mediated oxidative coupling of thiols to the corresponding disulfides utilizing a commercially available, metal-free photocatalyst. Herein, we demonstrate the use of fluorescein as a photoredox catalyst for visible-light-driven oxidative coupling of thiols to disulfides. The use of ammonium thiocyanate as an oxidant, mild reaction conditions, and a wide range of substrates suggest that this technology is feasible for disulfide synthesis.