Electrogenerated Cationic Reactive Intermediates: The Pool Method and Further Advances

Chem Rev. 2018 May 9;118(9):4702-4730. doi: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.7b00475. Epub 2017 Oct 27.

Abstract

Electrochemistry serves as a powerful method for generating reactive intermediates, such as organic cations. In general, there are two ways to use reactive intermediates for chemical reactions: (1) generation in the presence of a reaction partner and (2) generation in the absence of a reaction partner with accumulation in solution as a "pool" followed by reaction with a subsequently added reaction partner. The former approach is more popular because reactive intermediates are usually short-lived transient species, but the latter method is more flexible and versatile. This review focuses on the latter approach and provides a concise overview of the current methods for the generation and accumulation of cationic reactive intermediates as a pool using modern techniques of electrochemistry and their reactions with subsequently added nucleophilic reaction partners.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't