Reductive Arylation of Aliphatic and Aromatic Aldehydes with Cyanoarenes by Electrolysis for the Synthesis of Alcohols

• DOI: 10.1021/acs.orglett.1c00920
• Publication Date: 2021-04-16T15:29:48Z
• Authors: Xiao Zhang; Chao Yang; Han Gao; Lei Wang; Lin Guo; Wujiong Xia
• Keywords: 01 natural sciences; 0104 chemical sciences

An electroreductive arylation reaction of aliphatic and aromatic aldehydes as well as ketones with electro-deficient (hetero)arenes is described. A variety of cyano(hetero)arenes and carbonyl compounds, especially aliphatic aldehydes, have been examined, providing secondary and tertiary alcohols in moderate to good yields. Mechanistic studies, including cyclic voltammetry (CV), electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), and divided-cell experiments, support the generation of aliphatic ketyl radicals and persistent heteroaryl radical anions via cathodic reduction followed by radical-radical cross-coupling.