Expanding Ullmann Homocoupling to Cross-Coupling: Electrochemical Copper-Catalyzed Cross-Electrophile Coupling of Alkyl and Aryl Halides

The construction of C–C bonds is a pivotal transformation in organic synthesis. Traditional Ullmann type and Hurtley reactions for constructing C(sp3)–C(sp2) bonds rely on organometallic reagents or substrates with active methylene units. These requirements significantly limit their practical applicability. Herein, employing two readily available organic halides, we report a ligand-enabled, electrochemical copper-catalyzed cross-electrophile coupling. Although Cu is the first metal reported for C–C bond construction, cross-electrophile coupling nowadays is dominated by Ni. This work demonstrates that efficient cross-electrophile coupling can be realized by electrochemical Cu catalysis. Our protocol is…

• NN
  National Natural Science Foundation of China

  Award: 22571239
• NK
  National Key Research and Development Program of China

  Award: 2023YFA1508600
• FR
  Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities

  Award: 2042024kf1016