Multifunctional Binding Interface Drives Near-Unity CO Selectivity in Acidic CO Electrolysis.

The electrocatalytic carbon dioxide (CO) reduction is challenged by the parasitic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) especially in acidic media. Here, we elaborate that redox-active isoindigo, acting as a multifunctional co-catalyst, can pre-activate CO-bound intermediates and suppress HER upon the synergistic effects of Lewis acid-base adduct formation, intramolecular hydrogen-bond interaction, and interfacial water structure modulation. Modifying a silver catalyst with isoindigo substantially decreases the energy barrier for CO-to-*COOH conversion, which is regarded as the potential-limiting step of carbon monoxide production.

A high-throughput experimentation platform for data-driven discovery in electrochemistry.

Automating electrochemical analyses combined with artificial intelligence is poised to accelerate discoveries in renewable energy sciences and technologies. This study presents an automated high-throughput electrochemical characterization (AHTech) platform as a cost-effective and versatile tool for rapidly assessing liquid analytes. The Python-controlled platform combines a liquid handling robot, potentiostat, and customizable microelectrode bundles for diverse, reproducible electrochemical measurements in microtiter plates, minimizing chemical consumption and manual effort.

Electro-activated indigos intensify ampere-level CO reduction to CO on silver catalysts.

The electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide (CO) to carbon monoxide (CO) is challenged by a selectivity decline at high current densities. Here we report a class of indigo-based molecular promoters with redox-active CO binding sites to enhance the high-rate conversion of CO to CO on silver (Ag) catalysts. Theoretical calculations and in situ spectroscopy analyses demonstrate that the synergistic effect at the interface of indigo-derived compounds and Ag nanoparticles could activate CO molecules and accelerate the formation of key intermediates (*CO and *COOH) in the CO pathway.

Synthesis of 3-Formylindoles via Electrochemical Decarboxylation of Glyoxylic Acid with an Amine as a Dual Function Organocatalyst.

A new method for 3-formalytion of indoles has been developed through electrochemical decarboxylation of glyoxylic acid with the amine as a dual function organocatalyst. The amine facilitated both the electrochemical decarboxylation and the nucleophilic reaction efficiently, whose loading can be as low as 1 mol %. This protocol has a broad range of functional group tolerance under ambient conditions.

Electrosynthesis of ( E)-Vinyl Thiocyanates from Cinnamic Acids via Decarboxylative Coupling Reaction.

Thiocyanate compounds are key intermediates in the synthesis of pharmaceuticals and other sulfur-containing organic compounds. Herein, we first report an electrochemical protocol to synthesize vinyl thiocyanates from decarboxylative coupling of cinnamic acids with NHSCN in aqueous solution. This method provides thiocyanation products with broad functional group tolerance under ambient conditions.

Electrochemical N-Formylation of Amines via Decarboxylation of Glyoxylic Acid.

A new method for the synthesis of formamides has been developed through electrochemical decarboxylative N-formylation of amines with glyoxylic acid. This protocol provides an efficient approach to formamides with a broad range of functional group tolerance under ambient conditions.

Electrochemical Decarboxylative Sulfonylation of Cinnamic Acids with Aromatic Sulfonylhydrazides to Vinyl Sulfones.

A stereoselective synthesis of (E)-vinyl sulfones has been developed via electrochemical oxidative N-S bond cleavage of aromatic sulfonylhydrazides, followed by cross-coupling reactions with cinnamic acids to form the C-S bond. The protocol proceeded smoothly to afford (E)-vinyl sulfones in good yields with wide substrate scope under metal-free and halogen-free conditions.

Copper-Catalyzed Decarboxylative Difluoroalkylation and Perfluoroalkylation of α,β-Unsaturated Carboxylic Acids.

Copper-catalyzed decarboxylative difluoroalkylation and perfluoroalkylation of α,β-unsaturated carboxylic acids is described. Promoted by dialkyl phosphite, this novel reaction affords fluoroalkylated motifs with excellent stereoselectivity and broad substrate scope under mild reaction conditions from readily available fluoroalkyl iodides and bromides. Preliminary mechanism study suggests that radical pathway was involved in the catalytic cycle and dialkyl phosphite had played an indispensable role in this reaction.