Synthetic Organic Chemistry

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While preparative electrolysis of organic molecules has been an active area of research over the past century, modern synthetic chemists have generally been reluctant to adopt this technology. In fact, electrochemical methods possess many benefits over traditional reagent-based transformations, such as high functional group tolerance, mild conditions, and innate scalability and sustainability.

The field of synthetic organic chemistry is under constant and extreme selection pressure. It is challenged not only to create ever-increasingly complex molecules but also to do so in a timely, atom-economic, and sustainable fashion. Due in part to these external stimuli, classic technologies such as photochemistry and electrochemistry  have reemerged, providing tools that enable chemists to do more with less.

As early as the late 19th century, preparative electrolysis began to be used as an industrial process to prepare bulk chemicals on ton-scale. Classic examples include the chloralkali process, wherein aqueous sodium chloride is electrolyzed to give chlorine gas and sodium hydroxide, and the Hall–Héroult process, which provides elemental aluminum by electrolysis of Al2O3. These profoundly enabling uses of electrochemistry persist to this day, producing millions of metric tons of these valuable chemicals. Yet, examples of electrochemistry for use in organic synthesis and the fine chemicals industry remain scarce. This is perplexing given the fact that this technique generally features relatively mild conditions, good functional group tolerance, and high chemo selectivity.

Furthermore, the ease with which many electrochemical reactions can be scaled up, as well as the intrinsic “greenness” of the reactions (because electric current is used in place of stoichiometric oxidants or reductants), make this chemistry attractive in a process chemistry setting. It is, in fact, an innately practical technique.

Regards,

Angelina Matthew,

Managing Editor,

Pharmaceutical Analytical Chemistry

Whatsapp: +32 25889658