Dedicated to Professor Ilhyong Ryu on the occasion of his 70th birthday.
Abstract
An oxidant- and metal-free photoelectrocatalytic C–H alkylation reaction of heteroarenes
with alkyl oxalates has been developed. Several classes of heteroaromatics, such as
quinolines, isoquinolines, pyridines, and phenanthridines, can be alkylated with tertiary
or secondary alkyl oxalates. The photoelectrochemical synthesis employs 2,4,5,6-tetra-9H -carbazol-9-ylisophthalonitrile as a molecular catalyst and allows the oxidative transformations
to proceed through evolution of hydrogen without a sacrificial chemical oxidant.
Key words photoelectrochemistry - photoelectrocatalysis - C–H functionalization - alkyl oxalates
- heterocycles