Journal of the American Chemical Society
Article
example, the low-yielding electrochemical reaction of electron-
rich 26 (31%) improved to 72% when in air with Fc+. In
contrast, electrochemistry was essential for coupling of the
electron-deficient substrate to form 33 (88% yield vs 15% in air
and Fc+).
The investigation of the reaction scope reveals that the
developed protocol is not simply an air-free alternative to
Chan−Lam coupling reactions. Rather, this methodology
provides complementary reactivity for reactions of challenging
substrates that have previously been low yielding.67,102
Additionally, electrochemical reactions are higher yielding
than those performed in air alone. Finally, these studies reveal
that the mediator has a beneficial impact on yields of
nonelectrochemical reactions performed in air (see examples
3, 14, 20, 26, and 28).
indicates that the added Fc+ mediator was reduced to Fc and
was undergoing oxidation at high potentials. For comparison,
no oxidation was observed at high potentials in CVs of pure
Fc+ (blue trace). Together, these data revealed that Fc+ rapidly
oxidizes CuI to CuII under the reaction conditions.
We next analyzed deposits on the cathodes from reactions
with and without added mediator. Visually, Pt cathodes from
high-yielding reactions containing Fc+ appeared unchanged
from before electrolysis (Figure 5a). In contrast, an even
Role of the Mediator. The dramatic impact of the redox
mediator on the success of the electrochemical Chan−Lam
reaction inspired mechanistic studies that could provide
insights for the design and implementation of mediators in
other challenging electrocatalytic methodologies. We first
evaluated the role of Fc+ in homogeneous oxidation of low-
valent Cu salts to regenerate the active CuII species. CVs of
CuI(OAc)the Cu species generated after C−N bond
formationscanned from 0 to −1.7 V revealed a single
reduction event with a peak current at −1.5 V (Figure 4, red
Figure 5. (a) Photo and EDX-SEM image of Pt electrode from a
reaction containing Fc+ showing elemental platinum in red. (b) Photo
and EDX-SEM image of a Pt electrode from a reaction without Fc+
showing elemental copper in yellow.
coating of metallic copper was visible on cathodes from
reactions performed without Fc+ (Figure 5b). Elemental
analysis by scanning electron microscopy with energy
dispersive X-rays (EDX-SEM) of these cathodic surfaces
confirmed the visual observations and underscored the
dramatic impact of the mediator on maintaining a homoge-
neous catalyst. Images reproduced in Figure 5 reveal either a
pristine Pt surface from reactions with added Fc+ or complete
surface coverage by Cu0 in the absence of the mediator.
Coating of the Pt surface only further diminishes the selectivity
for the desired proton-reduction reaction over Cu plating.
Finally, we demonstrated that plated cathodes were stripped of
Cu deposits within seconds of submerging the electrodes in a
solution of Fc+. CVs of the resulting solution were consistent
with the conversion of Fc+ to Fc and the concomitant
formation of CuII (Figure S2 in the Supporting Information).
Catalyst recovery by oxidative stripping represents degenerate
redox events: electrochemical Cu plating paired with Fc
oxidation followed by back-electron transfer during the
oxidative stripping of Cu0 with Fc+. It is for this reason that
reactions require 4 electron equiv instead of the theoretical 2
F/mol for high yields. However, electrolysis beyond the
theoretical capacity does not irreversibly waste electrons
because the electrons are simply shuttled through the
degenerate pathway for catalyst recovery.41 Together, these
data implicate the mediator’s role in stripping Cu metal
deposits from the cathode to maintain an active Pt surface for
proton reduction and to regenerate catalytic CuII salts.
Figure 4. CVs probing Cu(I) oxidation by Fc+ with Cu(OAc) (red),
Cu(OAc) with Fc+ (black), and Fc+ (blue). CV conditions: 20 mM in
MeCN with 0.1 M KPF6 as electrolyte and 100 mV/s scan rate at
room temperature using glassy carbon WE and Pt CE. Potentials were
calibrated with Fc as an internal reference.
trace). This current response is consistent with CuI/0
reduction. The only oxidation event on the return scan to 0
V was the stripping of plated Cu0 indicated by the non-
Nernstian peak centered at −0.45 V. Notably, there is no
second redox event that can be attributed to oxidation of CuI.
Additional evidence that CuI is not electrochemically oxidized
was provided by analysis of the baseline current on the initial
reductive sweep of the CuI-containing solution. Specifically,
CuI should be unstable at the starting potential of the CV
sweep (+0 V), and a positive baseline current would be
observed for electrochemical oxidation of the bulk CuI species
in solution. Additionally, any CuII that was generated at these
high potentials would be reduced at the CuII/I couple with an
onset of −0.8 V. However, no current was observed at either of
these potential ranges, supporting a lack of electrochemical
activity for the CuI salt under the reaction conditions.
Our final investigation into the function of the mediator
targeted its role on preventing oxidation of amine substrates.
Reactions without Fc+ form low yields of coupled product
despite complete conversion of the amine substrate. In
contrast, yields from reactions with the mediator closely
mirror substrate conversion. To gain insight into the oxidative
half-cell reactions, we performed mediated and unmediated
Chan−Lam couplings with a Ag/Ag+ quasi-reference electrode
CV scans after the addition of 1 equiv of Fc+ to the same
solution of CuI(OAc) (Figure 4, black) matched those of
CuII(OAc)2 and revealed a CuII/I reduction that was not
observed from CVs of CuI alone. Additionally, the baseline
current above the potential of the Fc/Fc+ was positive, which
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J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2021, 143, 6257−6265