Electron-Driven Nitration of Unsaturated Hydrocarbons.

Herein, we introduce an electrochemically assisted paradigm for the generation of nitryl radicals from ferric nitrate under mild reaction conditions using a simple setup with inexpensive graphite and stainless-steel electrodes. Mechanistic evidence of such a unique reaction mode was supported by detailed spectroscopic and experimental studies. Powered by electricity and driven by electrons, the synthetic diversity of this concept has been demonstrated through the development of highly efficient nitration protocols of various unsaturated hydrocarbons. In addition to a broad application area, these protocols are easy of scaling to decagrams, while exhibiting exceptional substrate generality and functional group compatibility.