ARTICLE
21 March 2025
Electrochemically Driven Nickel-Catalyzed Phenol Synthesis via Sustainable Oxygen Atom Transfer from Nitrous Oxide
Qiyu Zhang Wenbin Xie Yasser M. A. Mohamed Hossam A. El Nazer Ahmed A. Elnazer Yinghui Han
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1 College of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 101408, China,
2 College of Materials Science and Opto-Electronic Technology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 101408, China,
3 Photochemistry Department, National Research Centre, Dokki, Giza, P. O. 12622, Egypt,
4 Geological Sciences Department, National Research Centre, El Buhouth St., Dokki, Giza, P. O. 12622, Egypt,
JERA 2025 , 9(2), 18–22; https://doi.org/10.26689/jera.v9i2.9879
© 2025 by the Authors. Licensee Whioce Publishing, Singapore. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ )
Abstract

The valorization of nitrous oxide (N2O) as an oxygen atom donor presents an attractive opportunity for green chemistry applications, leveraging both its industrial abundance and thermodynamically favorable oxidation potential. However, practical implementation has been constrained by the inherent kinetic inertness and poor coordinating ability of N2O. While prior studies achieved N2O-mediated conversion of aryl halides to phenols, such transformations necessitated stoichiometric chemical reductants and elevated pressure (2 atm), posing challenges in operational safety and process scalability. This study focuses on an electrochemical strategy that enables efficient oxygen atom transfer under ambient pressure through controlled current application. This methodology facilitates the selective transformation of aryl iodides to phenols without external reducing agents, establishing an environmentally benign synthetic pathway. By replacing traditional chemical reductants with electrons as the sole reducing equivalent, our approach addresses critical sustainability challenges in aromatic oxygenation chemistry while maintaining operational simplicity under mild conditions.

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