Artificial switchable catalysis is a new, rapidly expanding field that offers great potential advantages for both homogeneous and heterogeneous catalytic systems. Light irradiation is widely accepted as the best stimulus to artificial switchable chemical systems. In recent years, tremendous progress has been made in the synthesis and application of photo-switchable catalysts that can control when and where bond formation and dissociation take place in reactant molecules. Photo-switchable catalysis is a niche area in current catalysis, on which systematic analysis and reviews are still lacking in the scientific literature, yet it offers many intriguing and versatile applications, particularly in organic synthesis. This review aims to highlight the recent advances in photo-switchable catalyst systems that can result in two different chemical product outcomes and thus achieve a degree of control over organic synthetic reactions. Furthermore, this review evaluates different approaches that have been employed to achieve dynamic control over both the catalytic function and the selectivity of several different types of synthesis reactions, along with the remaining challenges and potential opportunities. Owing to the great diversity of the types of reactions and conditions adopted, a quantitative comparison of efficiencies between considered systems is not the focus of this review, instead the review showcases how insights from successful adopted strategies can help better harness and channel the power of photoswitchability in this new and promising area of catalysis research.

中文翻译：

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用于光催化中产物选择性控制的光开关

人工可切换催化是一个快速发展的新领域，为均相和非均相催化系统提供了巨大的潜在优势。光照射被广泛认为是人工可切换化学系统的最佳刺激。近年来，光开关催化剂的合成和应用取得了巨大进展，这些催化剂可以控制反应物分子中键形成和解离的时间和地点。光开关催化是当前催化领域的一个利基领域，科学文献中仍缺乏系统的分析和综述，但它提供了许多有趣且多功能的应用，特别是在有机合成中。本综述旨在强调光可切换催化剂系统的最新进展，该系统可以产生两种不同的化学产品结果，从而实现对有机合成反应的一定程度的控制。此外，本综述评估了用于实现对几种不同类型合成反应的催化功能和选择性的动态控制的不同方法，以及剩余的挑战和潜在的机遇。由于所采用的反应类型和条件存在很大差异，对所考虑的系统之间的效率进行定量比较并不是本次审查的重点，相反，该审查展示了从成功采用的策略中获得的见解如何帮助更好地利用和引导光可切换性的力量在这个新的、有前途的催化研究领域。