Formation and degradation of strongly reducing cyanoarene-based radical anions towards efficient radical anion-mediated photoredox catalysis.

Cyanoarene-based photocatalysts (PCs) have attracted significant interest owing to their superior catalytic performance for radical anion mediated photoredox catalysis. However, the factors affecting the formation and degradation of cyanoarene-based PC radical anion (PC) are still insufficiently understood. Herein, we therefore investigate the formation and degradation of cyanoarene-based PC under widely-used photoredox-mediated reaction conditions.