Direct Electrochemical Carboxylation of Benzylic C–N Bonds with Carbon Dioxide

We report a direct and efficient electrochemical carboxylation of benzylic C–N bonds with CO2 at room temperature. The reaction has been successfully applied to both primary and secondary benzylic C–N bonds with the compatibility of a variety of functional groups. This procedure does not require stoichiometric metals, external reducing agents, or sacrificial anodes, making column chromatography unnecessary for product purification. Differential electrochemical mass spectrometry (DEMS) was used to elucidate key intermediates of the electrocarboxylation reaction.