Complex molecule synthesis by electrocatalytic decarboxylative cross-coupling

Modern retrosynthetic analysis in organic chemistry is based on the principle of polar relationships between functional groups to guide the design of synthetic routes 1 . This method, termed polar retrosynthetic analysis, assigns partial positive (electrophilic) or negative (nucleophilic) charges to constituent functional groups in complex molecules followed by disconnecting bonds between opposing charges 2 – 4 . Although this approach forms the basis of undergraduate curriculum in organic chemistry 5 and strategic applications of most synthetic methods 6 , the implementation often requires a long list of ancillary considerations to mitigate chemoselectivity and oxidation state issues involving protecting groups and precise reaction choreography 3 , 4 , 7 . Here we report a radical-based Ni/Ag-electrocatalytic cross-coupling of substituted carboxylic acids, thereby enabling an intuitive and modular approach to accessing complex molecular architectures. This new method relies on a key silver additive that forms an active Ag nanoparticle-coated electrode surface 8 , 9 in situ along with carefully chosen ligands that modulate the reactivity of Ni. Through judicious choice of conditions and ligands, the cross-couplings can be rendered highly diastereoselective. To demonstrate the simplifying power of these reactions, concise syntheses of 14 natural products and two medicinally relevant molecules were completed.