Electrochemical Phosphorylation of α, β-Unsaturated Carboxylic Acids via Decarboxylative Cross-Coupling Reaction

Abstract

DABCO-mediated electrochemical decarboxylative coupling reaction of Ph2P(O)H with alkenyl acids has been developed. A range of (E)-alkenylphosphine oxides was obtained with broad substrate scope and excellent regioselectivity under metal-free and ambient conditions. Mechanistic studies suggested that the phosphinyl radical was generated through a hydrogen atom transfer (HAT) process mediated by DABCO+·. Moreover, Cp2Fe-mediated electrochemical synthesis of alkynylphosphine oxides has been established.