Table 1.

Optimization and control studies^a

entry	additive	equiv 6	temp	time	yieldb
1	none	4	23 °C	12 h	60%
2	NaBF4	4	23 °C	12 h	68%
3	NaHCO3	4	23 °C	12 h	70%
4	HCO2H	4	23 °C	12 h	50%
5	CF3CO2H	4	23 °C	12 h	88%
6	TsOH	4	23 °C	12 h	38%
7	CF3CO2H	2	23 °C	12 h	98%
8	CF3CO2H	2	50 °C	5 h	96%
9	none	2	50 °C	5 h	28%
10c	CF3CO2H	2	50 °C	5 h	0%
11d	CF3CO2H	2	50 °C	5 h	0%

^aUnless otherwise noted, reactions were conducted using 2 mol% Ru(bpy)₃Cl₂ and 1 equiv of additive in degassed MeCN (0.25 M) and were irradiated using a 23 W compact fluorescent light bulb at a distance of 30 cm.

^bYields determined by ¹H NMR using an internal standard.

^cReaction conducted in the absence of Ru(bpy)₃Cl₂.

^dReaction conducted in the dark.