Electroreductive Ring-Opening Carboxylation of Cycloketone Oxime Esters with Carbon Dioxide

Electroreductive carboxylation of benzylphosphonium salts with CO2 through the cleavage of the C(sp3)-P bond

Herein, a electroreductive carboxylation of benzylphosphonium salts was achieved by the cleavage of the C(sp3)-P bond, and various valuable arylacetic acids could be synthesized by this strategy. Also, based on control experiments and previous studies, a plausible reaction mechanism was proposed to explain the reaction process. The establishment of this procedure will provide a new paradigm for the functionalization of alkyl phosphonium salts.

Electroreductive Ring-Opening Carboxylation of 1,3-Oxazolidin-2-ones with CO2 for Accessing β-Amino Acids

Electrocarboxylation of the C(sp3)-O bond in 1,3-oxazolidin-2-ones with CO2 to achieve β-amino acids is developed. The C-O bond in substrates can be selectively cleaved via the single electron transfer on the surface of a cathode or through a CO2• - intermediate under additive-free conditions. A great diversity of β-amino acids can be obtained in a moderate to excellent yield and readily converted to various biologically active compounds.

Synthesis of aliphatic nitriles from cyclobutanone oxime mediated by sulfuryl fluoride (SO2F2)

A SO₂F₂-mediated ring-opening cross-coupling of cyclobutanone oxime derivatives with alkenes was developed for the construction of a range of δ-olefin-containing aliphatic nitriles with (E)-configuration selectivity. This new method features wide substrate scope, mild conditions, and direct N-O activation.

A guide to organic electroreduction using sacrificial anodes

Organic electrosynthesis is a green strategy for the synthesis of valuable molecules. Electrochemical reactions using sacrificial metal anodes enable new reactivity to be uncovered that could not be achieved with traditional non-electrochemical methods. Compared with reactions using metal powder as the reducing reagent, the mild electroreduction protocols usually exhibit diverse reactivity and excellent selectivity. The inexpensive metal anodes possess low oxidation potential, which could prevent undesired overoxidation of substrates, active intermediates and products. The in situ generated metal ions from sacrificial anodes could not only serve as Lewis acids to activate the reactants but also as a promoter or mediator. This tutorial review highlights the recent achievements in this rapidly growing area within the past five years. The sacrificial anode-enabled electroreductions are discussed according to the reaction type.