An electrochemical method for direct sulfonylation of BODIPYs under green conditions

Abstract

An environmentally benign electrochemical approach has been developed for the construction of β-sulfonylated BODIPYs by using sulfonylhydrazide as the sulfonyl source. The protocol does not require a metal catalyst or external oxidants, providing a green and mild route to functionalized BODIPYs with good functional group tolerance and furnishing a series of monosulfonylated and disulfonylated BODIPYs in moderate to good yields. Moreover, a radical–radical cross-coupling reaction pathway was proposed for the electrochemical synthetic strategy.