Conspectus Electrochemical synthesis of organic compounds has emerged as an attractive and environmentally benign alternative to conventional approaches for oxidation and reduction of organic compounds that utilizes electric current instead of chemical oxidants and reductants. As such, many useful transformations have been developed, including the Kolbe reaction, the Simons fluorination process, the Monsanto adiponitrile process, and the Shono oxidation, to name a few. Electrochemical C–H functionalization represents one of the most promising reaction types among many electrochemical transformations, since this process avoids prefunctionalization of substrates and provides novel retrosynthetic disconnections. However, site-selective anodic oxidation of C–H bonds is still a fundamental challenge due to the high oxidation potentials of C–H bonds compared to organic solvents and common functional groups. To overcome this issue, indirect electrolysis via the action of a mediator (a redox catalyst) is regularly employed, by which the selectivity can be controlled following reaction of said mediator with the substrate. Since the redox potentials of transition metal complexes can be easily tuned by modification of the ligand, the synergistic use of electrochemistry and transition metal catalysis to achieve site-selective C–H functionalization is an attractive strategy. In this Account, we summarize and contextualize our recent efforts toward transition metal-catalyzed electrochemical C–H functionalization proximal to a suitable directing group. We have developed C–H oxygenation, acylation, alkylation, and halogenation reactions in which a Pd­(II) species is oxidized to a Pd­(III) or Pd­(IV) intermediate by anodic oxidation, followed by reductive elimination to form the corresponding C–O, C–C, and C–X bonds. Importantly, improved monofunctionalization selectivity is achieved in the Pd-catalyzed C­(sp3)–H oxygenation compared to conventional approaches using PhI­(OAc)2 as the chemical oxidant. Physical separators are sometimes used to prevent the electrochemical deposition of Pd black on the cathode resulting from reduction of high valent Pd species. We skirted this issue through the development a Cu-catalyzed electrochemical C­(sp2)–H amination using n-Bu4NI as a redox cocatalyst in an undivided cell. In addition, we developed Ir-catalyzed electrochemical vinylic C–H functionalization of acrylic acids with alkynes in an undivided cell, affording various substituted α-pyrones in good to excellent yield. More importantly, chemical oxidants, including Ag2CO3, Cu­(OAc)2, and PhI­(OAc)2, resulted in much lower yields in the absence of electrical current under otherwise identical conditions. As elaborated below, progress in the area of electrochemical transition metal-catalyzed synthesis provides an effective platform for environmentally friendly and sustainable selective chemical transformations.

Synergistic use of electrochemistry and organometallic catalysis has emerged as a powerful tool for site-selective C–H functionalization, yet this type of transformation has thus far mainly been limited to arene C–H functionalization. Herein, we report the development of electrochemical vinylic C–H functionalization of acrylic acids with alkynes. In this reaction an iridium catalyst enables C–H/O–H functionalization for alkyne annulation, affording α-pyrones with good to excellent yields in an undivided cell. Preliminary mechanistic studies show that anodic oxidation is crucial for releasing the product and regeneration of an Ir­(III) intermediate from a diene-Ir­(I) complex, which is a coordinatively saturated, 18-electron complex. Importantly, common chemical oxidants such as Ag­(I) or Cu­(II) did not give significant amounts of the desired product in the absence of electrical current under otherwise identical conditions.

Abstractα-Pyridones and α-pyrones are ubiquitous structural motifs found in natural products and biologically active small molecules. Here, we report an Rh-catalyzed electrochemical vinylic C–H annulation of acrylamides with alkynes, affording cyclic products in good to excellent yield. Divergent syntheses of α-pyridones and cyclic imidates are accomplished by employing N-phenyl acrylamides and N-tosyl acrylamides as substrates, respectively. Additionally, excellent regioselectivities are achieved when using unsymmetrical alkynes. This electrochemical process is environmentally benign compared to traditional transition metal-catalyzed C–H annulations because it avoids the use of stoichiometric metal oxidants. DFT calculations elucidated the reaction mechanism and origins of substituent-controlled chemoselectivity. The sequential C–H activation and alkyne insertion under rhodium catalysis leads to the seven-membered ring vinyl-rhodium intermediate. This intermediate undergoes either the classic neutral concerted reductive elimination to produce α-pyridones, or the ionic stepwise pathway to produce cyclic imidates.