Researchers at the Institute of Chemical Research of Catalonia (ICIQ) in Tarragona use light to generate new chiral chemical compounds in high yields with high enantioselectivity. This innovative strategy, published in Nature Chemistry, opens up new avenues for the design of new reactions in the field of photochemistry and asymmetric catalysis.

A team of scientists at the Institute of Chemical Research of Catalonia (ICIQ) has designed a new photochemical method that uses visible light from a light bulb or the sun, to activate molecules (chiral enamines) and promote the formation of new carbon bonds in a controlled manner.