A Review on Electrodes Used in Electroorganic Synthesis and the Significance of Coupled Electrocatalytic Reactions

Organic conversions electrified by suitable catalytic electrodes is attracting ever-increasing attention as it possesses multiple advantages such as minimal waste production, high atom economy, use of clean and green reagents, high selectivity and ability to provide shorter pathways for many important multi-step organic reactions. Electrochemically driven fluorination, polymerizations, C-H or C-X (X=halide) activation and CO2 reduction are few examples in this regard. Although electrodes play a key role in these processes, acting as catalysts or synthons in many reactions, their activity has been often neglected or given negligible significance. This review critically analyses the use of different electrodes including Pt, Ni, Cu, stainless steel, sacrificial anodes, B-doped diamond and C-based electrodes in the broad context of organic synthesis while highlighting their potential and limitations. Besides, we also elaborated the electrocatalytic reactions associated with the solvents that are essential to bring out above-mentioned reactions. Thus, this review provides useful guidelines not only for driving typical organic reactions, but also to design new synthetic pathways which will improve our understanding of making organic conversions greener and will also help us realize sustainability in the field of electroorganic synthesis.