Electrochemical deoxygenation: a green tool for functional molecule diversification – challenges and opportunities

Abstract

Alcohols, aldehydes, and ketones are oxygen-rich functionalities, offering a valuable platform for producing hydrocarbons through direct deoxygenation. Conventional deoxygenation methods often suffer from poor atom economy, the use of hazardous reagents, and excessive waste generation. In contrast, electrochemical deoxygenation has emerged as a greener, highly selective and more controllable approach, allowing selective C–O bond activation under mild, and redox-tunable conditions without stoichiometric additives. This review summarizes the recent progress (2022–2025) in electrochemical deoxygenation and deoxyfunctionalization of various oxo-chemicals, highlighting their potential for late stage functionalizations and sustainable synthesis of value-added molecules including bioactive drugs.