(40) It is remarkable to see how fast companies have established small groups of experts to investigate the potential impact of photocatalysis in their synthetic programs. The first reason for this statement is the rapid uptake and maturation of photocatalysis in both academia and industry, allowing researchers to completely rethink the assembly of organic molecules. Nevertheless, this time the moment could be right for a definitive breakthrough of synthetic photochemistry in the industry. Photochemistry was only considered when there was no alternative available, such as in the production of vitamin D and rose oxide as prime examples. The general perception was to avoid photochemistry altogether as it imposed too many insurmountable issues to bring the molecule to the market. (38) This undermined the confidence of researchers─especially in the fine-chemical industry─to integrate photochemical steps in their synthetic routes toward pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, and materials. (34−36) Also from a scale-up perspective, photochemistry is still regarded as a daunting challenge because of the high cost of photons (37) and the light absorption, which causes a gradual loss of light intensity through the reaction medium. In one of the earlier reviews on photochemistry, (33) Noyes and Kassel stated already in the first paragraph that “ Unfortunately, while Photochemistry may be said to be much older than its fellows, it is at present in a far more unsatisfactory state.” Indeed, photochemical transformations are often perceived as very complex with regard to reaction kinetics. However, although the use of photons in organic synthesis is as old as the field itself, (32) it was consistently met with skepticism.
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