A powerful and environmentally friendly
electrochemical manganese-promoted
free radical selenylation reaction between boronic acids and diselenide
reagents was established. This electrochemical protocol provides a
practically applicable way to a series of valuable organoselenium
compounds with the use of easy available materials. Mechanistic experiments
implied that the seleno-radical formed via direct or indirect electrochemical
oxidation of diselenide may be involved as a key species in this transformation.