Direct and affordable alcohol phosphorylation through ambient electrochemical oxidation of phosphorous acid

Abstract

Alcohol phosphorylation is a key reaction for producing phosphate monoester and is traditionally performed under harsh conditions using hazardous reagents. Here, we developed a one-step electrochemical alcohol phosphorylation to synthesize phosphate monoester under ambient conditions without the use of toxic oxidants. This reaction is selective towards aliphatic and benzylic alcohols instead of phenols and can be applied to straight-chain, branched, benzylic, aromatic, and cyclic alcohols.