Electrochemical Oxidative Dehydrogenative Phosphorylation of N-Heterocycles with P(O)-H Compounds in Imidazolium-Based Ionic Liquid

Org Lett. 2020 Apr 17;22(8):3062-3066. doi: 10.1021/acs.orglett.0c00814. Epub 2020 Apr 7.

Abstract

We report a direct and green electrochemical oxidative cross-dehydrogenative coupling reaction of N-heterocycles with hydrogen phosphoryl compounds under external oxidant-free conditions. Various phosphorylation products of substituted carbazoles and indoles are assembled in modest to excellent yields. A hydrogen release process is preliminarily demonstrated and H2 is the sole byproduct. An imidazolium based ionic liquid is selected as the optimal electrolyte.