Hydrogenation via photochemically generated diimide

Article abstract of DOI:10.1016/S0040-4039(00)60511-7

Diimide is a well-known reagent for hydrogenating multiple bonds with very high stereospecificity. However, all of the methods for generating diimide require somewhat rigorous conditions. We show here that 1-thia-3,4-diazolidine-2,5-dione (TDADH) can be used to photochemically produce diimide at room temperature under neutral conditions. The diimide thus produced can hydrogenate multiple bonds in high yields.