Lieben Lecture: Memory of Chira­lity in Radical Chemi­stry

Abstract. Radical intermediates are often considered incompatible with the preservation of stereochemical information because of their high reactivity, conformational freedom, and rapid stereochemical scrambling. This lecture will discuss strategies to impose “memory of chirality” in radical chemistry by using excited-state catalytic intermediates and confined reaction environments. Engineered photoenzymes use the confined space of an active site to control excited-state radical intermediates and preserve stereochemical information during bond formation.¹ This concept provides a blueprint for developing stereospecific radical strategies outside biological systems, where molecular organization, confinement, and direct photoexcitation can impose memory of chirality in radical chemistry.²

(1) Tseliou, V.; Kqiku, L.; Berger, M.; Schiel, F.; Poelarends, G. J.; Melchiorre, P. Nature2024, 634, 848–854.

(2) This research is supported by the European Research Council (ERC-2023-AdG 101141690 – PHOTOZYME).