Electrochemical Oxidative Reassembly of 1,3-Diketones with Aryl Alkenes and Water via Carbon-Carbon Bond Cleavage Rearrangement.

We report the electrochemical cleavage and reassembly of 1,3-diketones with aryl alkenes and water for the synthesis of 1,4-ketoalcohol derivatives. This approach represents the first example of formal carbon-carbon cleavage of 1,3-diketones and alkene insertion via electro-oxidation, enabling the direct synthesis of diverse 1,4-ketoalcohol derivatives in good to high yields. The developed strategy employs an electrochemical approach using inexpensive commercial carbon electrodes in an undivided cell under mild and operationally simple conditions.