Iridium-Catalyzed Electrooxidative C-H Activation by Chemoselective Redox-Catalyst Cooperation

Ruthenium(ii)-catalyzed electrooxidative [4+2] annulation of benzylic alcohols with internal alkynes: entry to isocoumarins

A new ruthenium(ii)-catalyzed electrooxidative [4+2] annulation of primary benzylic alcohols with internal alkynes is described, which enables benzylic alcohols as weakly directing group precursors to access isocoumarins via multiple C-H functionalization. The reaction works well with a broad substrate scope, tolerates a wide range of functional groups, and incorporates practically the isocoumarin unit into diverse bioactive molecules. Mechanistic studies indicate that activation of aryl C(sp²)-H bonds is achieved through the generation of the active benzoyloxy-Ru(ii) intermediates via oxidation of benzylic alcohols using an electrooxidative Ru(ii) catalyst.

Electrochemical Transition-Metal-Catalyzed C-H Bond Functionalization: Electricity as Clean Surrogates of Chemical Oxidants

Transition-metal-catalyzed C-H activation has attracted much attention from the organic synthetic community because it obviates the need to prefunctionalize substrates. However, superstoichiometric chemical oxidants, such as copper- or silver-based metal oxidants, benzoquinones, organic peroxides, K₂ S₂ O₈ , hypervalent iodine, and O₂ , are required for most of the reactions. Thus, the development of environmentally benign and user-friendly C-H bond activation protocols, in the absence of chemical oxidants, are urgently desired. The inherent advantages and unique characteristics of organic electrosynthesis make fill this gap. Herein, recent progress in this area (until the end of September 2018) is summarized for different transition metals to highlight the potential sustainability of electro-organic chemistry.

Nickel-Catalyzed Electrooxidative C-H Amination: Support for Nickel(IV)

Nickel-catalyzed electrochemical C-H aminations were accomplished by chemo- and position-selective C-H activation with ample scope. Detailed mechanistic studies highlighted a facile C-H cleavage with unique chemo-selectivity, while cyclovoltammetric analysis provided support for a nickel(II/III/IV) manifold.

Electrochemical ruthenium-catalyzed alkyne annulations by C–H/Het–H activation of aryl carbamates or phenols in protic media

Electrooxidative peri-C–H activation was accomplished by versatile ruthenium(ii) catalysis in terms of C–H/N–H and C–H/O–H functionalization. The sustainable electrocatalysis exploited electricity, thereby avoiding the use of toxic transition metals as sacrificial oxidants.