Photocalatytic C–H Alkylation Enabled by a Zwitterionic Acridinium Amidate Catalyst

workers disclose a photocatalytic alkylation of unactivated C-H bonds using electrophilic olefins.To this end, a zwitterionic acridinium amidate was designed as a direct hydrogen atom transfer catalyst, furnishing the products in good to excellent yields.Comment: Mechanistic studies show that hydrogen bonding of the catalyst to HFIP as well as the perpendicular orientation of the 2p orbitals of the acridinium and amidate N-atoms enable the formation of a twisted, catalytically active diradical upon photoexication and intramolecular charge transfer.