Direct and Affordable Alcohol Phosphorylation through Ambient Electrochemical Oxidation of Phosphorous Acid

Abstract

Alcohol phosphorylation is key to produce phosphate monoester, which is traditionally generated under harsh conditions using hazardous reagents. Here, we develop one-step electrochemical phosphorylation to synthesize phosphate monoester under ambient condition without using toxic oxidants. This approach is applicable toward straight-chain, aliphatic, branched, benzylic, aromatic, and cyclic alcohols.