Electrochemical C-H Amination by Cobalt Catalysis in a Renewable Solvent.

Syntheses of substituted anilines primarily rely on palladium-catalyzed coupling chemistry with prefunctionalized aryl electrophiles. While oxidative aminations have emerged as powerful alternatives, they largely produce undesired metal-containing by-products in stoichiometric quantities. In contrast, described herein is the unprecedented electrochemical C-H amination by cobalt-catalyzed C-H activation. The environmentally benign electrocatalysis avoids stoichiometric metal oxidants, can be conducted under ambient air, and employs a biomass-derived, renewable solvent for sustainable aminations in an atom- and step-economical manner with H as the sole byproduct.