Electrochemical Reduction of Aldehydes and Ketones for the Synthesis of Alcohols and Diols under Ambient Conditions

Lei Wang; Xiao Zhang; Raymond Yang Xia; Chao Yang; Lin Guo; Wujiong Xia

doi:10.1055/a-1833-9025

Synlett, Table of Contents

Synlett 2022; 33(13): 1302-1308
DOI: 10.1055/a-1833-9025

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Electrochemical Reduction of Aldehydes and Ketones for the Synthesis of Alcohols and Diols under Ambient Conditions

Lei Wang‡

^aState Key Lab of Urban Water Resource and Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology (Shenzhen), Shenzhen 518055, P. R. of China

,

Xiao Zhang‡

^aState Key Lab of Urban Water Resource and Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology (Shenzhen), Shenzhen 518055, P. R. of China

,

Raymond Yang Xia

^bThe Affiliated International School of Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518054, P. R. of China

,

Chao Yang∗

^aState Key Lab of Urban Water Resource and Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology (Shenzhen), Shenzhen 518055, P. R. of China

,

Lin Guo∗

^aState Key Lab of Urban Water Resource and Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology (Shenzhen), Shenzhen 518055, P. R. of China

,

Wujiong Xia

^aState Key Lab of Urban Water Resource and Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology (Shenzhen), Shenzhen 518055, P. R. of China

^cSchool of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Henan Normal University., Henan, P. R. of China

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Abstract

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Abstract

A sustainable, practical, and direct strategy for the reduction of carbonyl compounds, including aldehydes and ketones, by an electrochemical pathway is presented, affording a variety of alcohols or diols as major products with decent yields. The reaction proceeds smoothly in the air at ambient temperatures with DABCO as the sacrificial reductant. Mechanistic studies revealed that direct electrochemical reduction followed by either protonation or radical–radical homocoupling is the main pathway.

Key words

electrochemistry - reduction - transition-metal-free - alcohols - pinacols - carbonyl compounds

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References

References and Notes

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