Photochemical reductive deamination of alpha-amino aryl alkyl ketones.

Photochemical reductive deamination of alpha-amino aryl alkyl ketones under photosensitizer-free conditions is presented. This protocol features high efficiency and selectivity. A plausible reaction pathway is proposed based on ultraviolet-visible absorption investigation, control experiments and deuterium-labelling studies. Mechanistic study reveals that the alpha-hydrogen atom of the ketone product originated from water.