Tetrabutylammonium Borohydride: A Sacrificial Reductant in Organic Electrosynthesis

Abstract

In this work, tetrabutylammonium borohydride (TBAB) is investigated as a terminal reductant in reductive organic electrosynthesis as replacement for sacrificial anodes. Sacrificial anodes are typically based on easily oxidized metals, such as Mg, Zn, or Al, and are consumed during the reaction, resulting in stoichiometric metal waste. In contrast, oxidation of TBAB enables the use of inert anodes and results in anodic H2 formation, effectively serving as the inverse of cathodic proton reduction. Our results indicate that TBAB oxidation at carbon-based electrodes can replace the use of sacrificial anodes in several organic electrosynthetic reactions, including Birch reduction, hydrodesulfurization of thioethers, hydrodeoxygenation of alcohols1, and cross-electrophile couplings.References Villo, P.; Lill, M.; Alsaman, Z.; Soto Kronberg, A.; Chu, V.; Ahumada, G.; Agarwala, H.; Ahlquist, M.; Lundberg, H. Electroreductive Deoxygenative C–H and C–C Bond Formation from Non-Derivatized Alcohols Fueled by Borohydride Oxidation. ChemElectroChem. 2023, accepted for publication (a previous version can be found in ChemRxiv, DOI: 10.26434/chemrxiv-2023-tw9l1-v2.) Figure 1