Litcius/Paper detail

Metal-free electrochemical dihydroxylation of unactivated alkenes

Min Liu, Tian Feng, Yanwei Wang, Guangsheng Kou, Qiuyan Wang, Qian Wang, Youai Qiu, Qian Wang, Youai Qiu

2023Nature Communications50 citationsDOIOpen Access PDF

Abstract

Herein, a metal-free electrochemical dihydroxylation of unactivated alkenes is described. The transformation proceeds smoothly under mild conditions with a broad range of unactivated alkenes, providing valuable and versatile dihydroxylated products in moderate to good yields without the addition of costly transition metals and stoichiometric amounts of chemical oxidants. Moreover, this method can be applied to a range of natural products and pharmaceutical derivatives, further demonstrating its synthetic utility. Mechanistic studies have revealed that iodohydrin and epoxide intermediate are formed during the reaction process.

Topics & Concepts

DihydroxylationElectrochemistryMetalChemistryOrganic chemistryElectrodeCatalysisEnantioselective synthesisPhysical chemistryOxidative Organic Chemistry ReactionsRadical Photochemical ReactionsCatalytic C–H Functionalization Methods