Electrochemical synthesis of selenocyanated imidazo[1,5-a]quinolines under metal catalyst- and chemical oxidant-free conditions

Reported herein is the first example of electrochemical selenocyanation of imidazo[1,5-a]quinolines with KSeCN under metal catalyst- and chemical oxidant-free conditions. This sustainable strategy shows a broad scope and great compatibility with functional groups, and affords synthetically and biologically important selenocyanated imidazo[1,5-a]quinolines in good to excellent yields with cheap graphite and Ni plates as the electrodes. The gram-scale synthesis was also successfully conducted, which might demonstrate the potential value of this electrochemical protocol. (c) 2019 Chinese Chemical Society and Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.