Photo‐Induced Cleavage of Alkenes to Carbonyls in Water

Abstract A method of the oxidative cracking of olefins’ C=C bonds promoted by NaN 3 in water without photocatalyst was developed. Some typical cheap olefins could be converted to aldehydes or ketones in moderate to good yields at room temperature under blue light irradiation. The experimental results showed that NaN 3 −O 2 charge‐transfer complexes might be formed during the reaction, and then oxidized and cracked, finally formed aldehydes or ketones.