Photocatalytic reduction of organic compounds

Organic synthesis through semiconductor photocatalysis has become an important research area in photochemistry in the last two decades. Significant examples of organic transformations employed for synthetic purposes are oxidation and reduction reactions, isomerization reactions, C-H bond activations and C-C and C-N bond forming reactions. In this review, the use of irradiated semiconductors and different operation conditions in the reduction of organic compounds is surveyed. Here, the photocatalytic reduction of nitroarenes, aldehydes, ketones and miscellaneous compounds will be discussed. This review is concluded with some perspectives of our group on the directions toward which future research may be aimed.