Asymmetric Electrochemical Transformations

Abstract

The field of electrochemical synthesis has developed rapidly over the last decade and has provided alternative synthetic methods with the absence of stoichiometric amounts of chemical oxidants or reductants. Although sustainable electrosynthetic procedures have been developed, relatively few examples of highly enantioselective catalytic electrosynthesis have been reported to date. The development of general strategies for electrochemical enantiocontrol has thus proven to be a considerable challenge. This Minireview highlights the current knowledge and recent advances in the synthetic utility of electrochemical transformations for asymmetric synthesis. Specifically, three major types of catalytic enantioselective strategy in electrosynthesis are outlined, including electrochemical activation of chiral catalyst-bound substrates, asymmetric cascade electrochemical processes, and chemically modified chiral electrodes.

Keywords: asymmetric catalysis; electrolysis; enantioselectivity; homogeneous catalysis; radicals.