Direct Electrosynthesis of Ketones from Benzylic Methylenes by Electrooxidative CH Activation

Selective Oxidative Cleavage of Benzyl C-N Bond under Metal-Free Electrochemical Conditions

With the growing significance of green chemistry in organic synthesis, electrochemical oxidation has seen rapid development. Compounds undergo oxidation-reduction reactions through electron transfer at the electrode surface. This article proposes the use of electrochemical methods to achieve cleavage of the benzyl C-N bond. This method selectively oxidatively cleaves the C-N bond without the need for metal catalysts or external oxidants. Additionally, primary, secondary, and tertiary amines exhibit good adaptability under these conditions, utilizing water as the sole source of oxygen.

Sustainable Electrochemical Benzylic C-H Oxidation Using MeOH as an Oxygen Source

New methods and strategies for the direct oxidation of benzylic C-H bonds are highly desirable, owing to the importance of ketone motifs in significant organic transformations and the synthesis of valuable molecules, including pharmaceuticals, pesticides, and fine chemicals. Herein, we describe an electrochemical benzylic C-H oxidation strategy for the synthesis of ketones using MeOH as an oxygen source. Inexpensive and safe KBr serves as both an electrolyte and a bromide radical precursor in the reaction. This transformation also offers several advantages such as mild conditions, broad functional group tolerance, and operational simplicity. Mechanistic investigations by control experiments, radical scavenging experiments, electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), kinetic studies, cyclic voltammetry (CV), and in-situ Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy support a pathway involving the formation and transformation of benzyl methyl ether via hydrogen atom transfer (HAT) and single-electron transfer (SET). The practical application of our strategy is highlighted by the successful synthesis of five pharmaceuticals, namely lenperone, melperone, diphenhydramine, cinnarizine, and flunarizine.

Electrochemical C-H/C-C Bond Oxygenation: A Potential Technology for Plastic Depolymerization

Herein, we provide eco-friendly and safely operated electrocatalytic methods for the selective oxidation directly or with water, air, light, metal catalyst or other mediators serving as the only oxygen supply. Heavy metals, stoichiometric chemical oxidants, or harsh conditions were drawbacks of earlier oxidative cleavage techniques. It has recently come to light that a crucial stage in the deconstruction of plastic waste and the utilization of biomass is the selective activation of inert C(sp3 )-C/H(sp3 ) bonds, which continues to be a significant obstacle in the chemical upcycling of resistant polyolefin waste. An appealing alternative to chemical oxidations using oxygen and catalysts is direct or indirect electrochemical conversion. An essential transition in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries is the electrochemical oxidation of C-H/C-C bonds. In this review, we discuss cutting-edge approaches to chemically recycle commercial plastics and feasible C-C/C-H bonds oxygenation routes for industrial scale-up.

Catalyst- and Oxidizing Reagent-Free Electrochemical Benzylic C(sp3)-H Oxidation of Phenol Derivatives

A site-selective electrochemical approach for the benzylic C(sp³)-H oxidation reaction of phenol derivatives along with hydrogen evolution has been developed. The protocol proceeds in an easily available undivided cell at room temperature under catalyst- and oxidizing reagent-free conditions. The corresponding aryl aldehydes and ketones are obtained in satisfactory yields, and the gram-scale synthesis is easy to be carried out.

Site-selective electrochemical thiocyanation of benzylic C–H bonds

Direct benzylic C(sp3)−H thiocyanation is explored as a straightforward strategy toward the synthesis of thiocyanate derivatives. We report herein an electrochemical protocol for site-selective benzylic C(sp3)−H thiocyanation under mild reaction...

Selective Electrochemical Oxygenation of Alkylarenes to Carbonyls

An efficient electrochemical method for benzylic C(sp³)-H bond oxidation has been developed. A variety of methylarenes, methylheteroarenes, and benzylic (hetero)methylenes could be converted into the desired aryl aldehydes and aryl ketones in moderate to excellent yields in an undivided cell, using O₂ as the oxygen source and lutidinium perchlorate as an electrolyte. On the basis of cyclic voltammetry studies, ¹⁸O labeling experiments, and radical trapping experiments, a possible single-electron transfer mechanism has been proposed for the electrooxidation reaction.

Electrocatalytic ethylbenzene valorization using a polyoxometalate@covalent triazine framework with water as the oxygen source

Ethylbenzene (EB) oxidation is an important transformation in the chemical industry. Herein, PMo10V2@CTF, a noble metal free electrocatalyst, was used to promote the oxidative upgrading of EB. Under ambient conditions, 65% of EB was converted to three value-added products using water as the oxygen source yielding a total Faraday efficiency of 90.4%. This excellent performance is ascribed to the homogeneous dispersion of PMo10V2 and its dual role in the electrocatalytic process.

Electro-oxidative Intermolecular Allylic C(sp3)-H Aminations

The oxidative intermolecular nitrogenation of C(sp³)-H bonds represents one of the most straightforward strategies to construct nitrogen-containing molecules. However, a sacrificial chemical oxidant is generally required. Herein, we describe electrochemical oxidative intermolecular allylic C(sp³)-H aminations in an undivided cell by electric current. The cross-dehydrogenative amination proceeded efficiently with ample scope under metal- and chemical oxidant-free reaction conditions, giving molecular H₂ as the only byproduct.

Exogenous-oxidant-free electrochemical oxidative C-H phosphonylation with hydrogen evolution

We herein report a versatile and environmentally friendly electrochemical oxidative C-H phosphonylation protocol. This protocol features a broad substrate scope; not only C(sp2)-H phosphonylation, but also C(sp3)-H phosphonylation is tolerated well under exogenous-oxidant-free and metal catalyst-free electrochemical oxidation conditions.

Electrochemical strategies for C-H functionalization and C-N bond formation

Conventional methods for carrying out carbon-hydrogen functionalization and carbon-nitrogen bond formation are typically conducted at elevated temperatures, and rely on expensive catalysts as well as the use of stoichiometric, and perhaps toxic, oxidants. In this regard, electrochemical synthesis has recently been recognized as a sustainable and scalable strategy for the construction of challenging carbon-carbon and carbon-heteroatom bonds. Here, electrosynthesis has proven to be an environmentally benign, highly effective and versatile platform for achieving a wide range of nonclassical bond disconnections via generation of radical intermediates under mild reaction conditions. This review provides an overview on the use of anodic electrochemical methods for expediting the development of carbon-hydrogen functionalization and carbon-nitrogen bond formation strategies. Emphasis is placed on methodology development and mechanistic insight and aims to provide inspiration for future synthetic applications in the field of electrosynthesis.

Synthetic Organic Electrochemical Methods Since 2000: On the Verge of a Renaissance

Electrochemistry represents one of the most intimate ways of interacting with molecules. This review discusses advances in synthetic organic electrochemistry since 2000. Enabling methods and synthetic applications are analyzed alongside innate advantages as well as future challenges of electroorganic chemistry.

Enhanced Structural Variety of Nonplanar N-Oxyl Radical Catalysts and Their Application to the Aerobic Oxidation of Benzylic C-H Bonds

The design and synthesis of structurally variable, nonplanar N-oxyl radical catalysts and their application to the aerobic oxidation, etherification, and acetoamidation of benzylic C-H bonds are described. The catalytic oxidation of C-H bonds represents a powerful tool to synthesize oxygenated functional molecules from simple hydrocarbons in a straightforward way. Electron-deficient N-oxyl radical catalysts, such as phthalimidoyl N-oxyl (PINO) radical, generated from N-hydroxyphthalimide (1), have attracted much attention because of their applications in the oxidation of C-H bonds with high bond dissociation energy (BDE). However, a few sites in 1 are available for structural modifications and improvements of the catalytic performance. By replacing one carbonyl group in 1 with a trifluoromethyl (CF3)-substituted sp(3)-carbon, we generated an additional tunable site and a nonplanar backbone, while retaining the desirable electron-withdrawing properties and increasing the lipophilicity with respect to 1. We synthesized a variety of N-hydroxy precatalysts containing such a CF3 moiety, and investigated their utility in the aerobic oxidation of benzylic C-H bonds. Precatalysts with electron-withdrawing substituents, such as trifluoroethoxy and the acetophenone moieties, afforded higher yields than a corresponding methoxy-substituted analogue. The introduction of substituents at the aromatic ring was also effective, as evident from the performance of 7-CF3 and 4,5,6,7-tetrafluoro precatalysts. Especially the combination of trifluoroethoxy- and 4,5,6,7-tetrafluoro substitution afforded a superior performance. These catalyst systems exhibited high functional group tolerance during the aerobic oxidation of C-H bonds, and benzylic etherification and Ritter-type reactions could be carried out at room temperature when a selected precatalyst and N-bromosuccinimide (NBS) were used.

TBHP-promoted direct oxidation reaction of benzylic Csp3–H bonds to ketones

A metal-free oxidation system employingtert-butyl hydroperoxide (TBHP) has been developed for selective oxidation of structurally diverse benzylic sp³C–H bonds.

Selective C–H bond electro-oxidation of benzylic acetates and alcohols to benzaldehydes

A method for the electrosynthesis of aldehydes is presented.

Electrochemical synthesis of α-enaminones from aryl ketones

A novel approach to realize the synthesis of α-enaminones via electrochemical oxidation was developed under mild conditions.

Electrosynthesis of enaminones directly from methyl ketones and amines with nitromethane as a carbon source

An efficient and mechanistically different method for the electrosynthesis of enaminone directly from methyl ketones, amines and nitromethane was developed.

A simple and efficient approach to realize difunctionalization of arylketones with malonate esters via electrochemical oxidation

A facile difunctionalization of arylketones with malonate esters via electrochemical oxidation was achieved under mild conditions.