Asymmetric Catalysis Facilitated by Photochemical or Electrochemical Methods

The combination of photochemical or electrochemical methods with catalytic quantities of enantioselective catalysts offers the promise to develop novel and "greener" protocols for the synthesis of optically active compounds, as photochemical and electrochemical methods are well-known, excellent methods for the generation of reactive species such as carbon-centered radicals and radical ions, which could further convert to carbocations and carboanions under mild conditions. In this chapter, recent advances in the photochemical or electrochemical method participated asymmetric reaction are introduced, and attention is paid to discussing those enantioselective reactions which are difficult to be realized by traditional methods in asymmetric catalysis, together with the possible reaction mechanism.