Electrochemical Decarboxylative Oxygenation of Carboxylic Acids

A straightforward electrosynthesis of carbonyls from aliphatic carboxylic acids has been developed through electrochemical decarboxylative oxygenation. This newly developed transformation features metal free, ubiquitous substrates, good functional group tolerance, and mild conditions. Diverse primary, secondary, as well as tertiary carboxylic acids were amenable to this sequence, furnishing valuable ketones, aldehydes, and amides in good to excellent yields. Moreover, preliminary mechanistic studies indicate that the electrochemically generated carbocation is trapped with water and followed by TEMPO-mediated electrocatalytic oxidation of the alcohol intermediate.