Advances in Organic Electrochemical Synthesis

Organic electrochemical synthesis has become a useful and environmentally friendly alternative to traditional organic synthesis and has been applied to oxidation, reduction, or redox neutral transformation. By dialing in the electric current or electrode potential, it is possible to achieve some challenging transformations under mild reaction conditions. With the increasing awareness of energy efficiency and environmental protection, organic electrochemical synthesis has attracted much attention in recent years. However, electrochemical synthesis faces several challenges including electrode passivation, limited reaction types, the difficulty of controlling reactivity and selectivity, and so on. This review focuses on electrochemical synthesis in organic solution system, and it summarizes recent efforts in addressing these challenges through direct electrolysis and indirect electrolysis. In direct electrolysis, the strategies include the rational design of electrochemical electrolysis reactions, change of electrochemical electrolysis modes and equipment, or merging of electrochemical technology with other novel synthetic technologies. In terms of indirect electrolysis, organic compounds or transition metals are mainly used as molecular electrocatalysts to shuttle the electrons between electrodes and substrates and control the reaction reactivity and selectivity, affording some challenging chemical transformations.

Automated summary

Organic electrochemical synthesis is an environmentally friendly alternative to traditional organic synthesis, enabling challenging transformations under mild reaction conditions. With increasing awareness of energy efficiency and environmental protection, it has gained much attention. However, electrochemical synthesis faces challenges including electrode passivation, limited reaction types, and difficulty in controlling reactivity and selectivity. This review focuses on recent efforts in addressing these challenges through direct and indirect electrolysis in organic solution systems.