Metal-free desilylative C-C bond formation by visible-light photoredox catalysis.

A newly developed methodology for the use of organosilanes as radical precursors under metal-free and visible-light conditions is presented. The strong oxidant character of the 9-mesityl-10-methylacridinium salt in its excited state enables the transformation of simple silanes to the corresponding carbon-centered radicals, which were trapped by various acceptor molecules.