Electrochemical cascade reactions for electro-organic synthesis

Abstract

Electrochemical cascades are an attractive tool for use in organic synthesis, providing an elegant pathway for one-pot synthesis of important chemical feedstocks. These cascade reactions typically consist of an electrochemical redox event that enables several (two or more) subsequent spontaneous chemical reactions. While classic organic cascades typically require stoichiometric amounts of reagents, especially reactive redox reagents, electrochemical methods replace stoichiometric reagents with an applied potential, offering a more sustainable synthetic route with high atom economy. This review highlights advances in the rapidly growing field by highlighting the use of metal-mediated, metal-free, and bioelectrocatlytic cascade reactions in electro-organic synthesis. As electrochemical cascade systems embrace the complexity and advances of modern electrochemical catalysis, there is likely to be greater increases in selectivity and efficiency.