I completed this research project as part of the Little Research Group at the University of California, Santa Barbara. The goal of the project was to test the viability of using organic electrochemical mediators, used in electrosynthesis, as photoredox catalysts.

Redox reactions are one of the most common types of transformations in organic chemistry. Electrosynthesis and photocatalysis have been recognized by scientists as environmentally friendly methodologies for these reactions, as they obviate the need for toxic or dangerous oxidizing and reducing agents. I demonstrated that a particular mediator, a phenanthro[9,10-d]imidazole, could be used to perform photocatalytic reductive dehalogenations of iodobenzene and piodoanisole with excellent conversion.

Date: October 2015 - June 2016