Issue 40, 2021

Discovery of a tetraarylhydrazine catalyst for electrocatalytic synthesis of imidazo-fused N-heteroaromatic compounds

Abstract

The development of electrocatalytic synthetic methods hinges on efficient molecular catalysts. Triarylamines are well-known redox catalysts because of the good stability of their corresponding amine radical cations. Herein we show that tris(4-(tert-butyl)phenyl)amine decomposes unexpectedly during electrolysis in MeOH/THF to afford a tetraarylhydrazine, 1,1,2,2-tetrakis(4-(tert-butyl)phenyl)hydrazine. In addition, we have applied this tetraarylhydrazine, which is either preprepared or formed in situ from tris(4-(tert-butyl)phenyl)amine, as an electrocatalyst for the synthesis of imidazopyridines and related N-heteroaromatic compounds through intramolecular [3 + 2] annulation. This metal-free electrocatalytic method provides straightforward access to the N-heteroaromatic compounds from readily available materials without the need for external chemical oxidants.

Graphical abstract: Discovery of a tetraarylhydrazine catalyst for electrocatalytic synthesis of imidazo-fused N-heteroaromatic compounds

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
22 Aug. 2021
Accepted
24 Sept. 2021
First published
29 Sept. 2021

Org. Biomol. Chem., 2021,19, 8789-8793

Discovery of a tetraarylhydrazine catalyst for electrocatalytic synthesis of imidazo-fused N-heteroaromatic compounds

Z. Hou, Z. Mao and H. Xu, Org. Biomol. Chem., 2021, 19, 8789 DOI: 10.1039/D1OB01644J

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