Recent advances in electrochemical difunctionalization of alkenes and alkynes for the synthesis of organohalides

Abstract

Organohalides are particularly important and versatile, as they are found not only in bioactive natural products, pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, and materials but also serve as fundamental reagents in synthetic chemistry. The rapid development of electrosynthesis as an environmentally friendly and efficient technology provides solutions for the synthesis of organohalides that avoid the use of chemical oxidants and minimize the formation of by-products. This review summarizes recent advances in the electrochemical difunctionalization of alkenes and alkynes for the synthesis of organohalides, as well as their underlying mechanisms. We anticipate that this work will stimulate new strategies for the synthesis of organohalides.