C−H oxygenation reactions enabled by dual catalysis with electrogenerated hypervalent iodine species and ruthenium complexes

The catalytic generation of hypervalent iodine(III) reagents by anodic electrooxidation was orchestrated towards an unprecedented electrocatalytic C−H oxygenation of weakly coordinating aromatic amides and ketones. Thus, catalytic quantities of iodoarenes in concert with catalytic amounts of ruthenium(II) complexes set the stage for versatile C−H activations with ample scope and high functional group tolerance. Detailed mechanistic studies by experiment and computation substantiate the role of the iodoarene as the electrochemically relevant species towards C−H oxygenations with electricity as a sustainable oxidant and molecular hydrogen as the sole by-product. para-Selective C−H oxygenations likewise proved viable in the absence of directing groups. (© 2019 The Authors. Published by Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA.)