Structural motif

Electrode

Organic chemistry

Heteroatom

Combinatorial chemistry

Ring (chemistry)

Transition metal

Catalysis

Stoichiometry

Physical chemistry

Inorganic chemistry

Chemistry

Cobalt

Electrochemistry

Biochemistry

Chemistry - A European Journal

Carbon-heteroatom bonds represent omnipresent structural motifs of the vast majority of functionalized materials and bioactive compounds. C-H activation has emerged as arguably the most efficient strategy to construct C-Het bonds. Despite of major advances, these C-H transformations were largely dominated by precious transition metal catalysts, in combination with stoichiometric, toxic metal oxidants. Herein, we discuss the recent evolution of cobalt-catalyzed C-H activations that enable C-Het formations with electricity as the sole sustainable oxidant until May 2018.

Electrochemical Cobalt‐Catalyzed C−H Activation