Unlocking the potential of oxidative asymmetric catalysis with continuous flow electrochemistry

In the field of catalytic asymmetric synthesis, the less-treaded path lies in oxidative catalytic asymmetric transformations. The hurdles of pinpointing appropriate chemical oxidants and addressing their compatibility issues with catalysts and functionalities present significant challenges. Organic electrochemistry, employing traceless electrons for redox reactions, is underscored as a promising solution. However, the commonly used electrolysis in batch cells introduces its own set of challenges, hindering the advancement of electrochemical asymmetric catalysis. Here we introduce a microfluidic electrochemistry platform with single-pass continuous flow reactors that exhibits wide-ranging applicability to various oxidative asymmetric catalytic transformations. This is exemplified through sulfenylation of 1,3-dicarbonyls, dehydrogenative C–C coupling, and dehydrogenative alkene annulation processes. The unique properties of microfluidic electrochemical reactors not only eliminate the need for chemical oxidants, but also enhance reaction efficiency and reduce the use of additives and electrolytes. These salient features of microfluidic electrochemistry expedite the discovery and development of oxidative asymmetric transformations. In addition, the continuous production facilitated by parallel single-pass reactors ensures straightforward reaction upscaling, removing the necessity for re-optimization across various scales, as evidenced by direct translation from milligram screening to hectogram asymmetric synthesis.