Yi Wang, Bofei Wang, Song Lin
The deoxygenative difunctionalization of carbonyls converts readily available carbonyl compounds into value-added gem -difunctionalized building blocks. We report an electrochemical carbonyl umpolung approach for the deoxygenative cyanofunctionalization of aldehydes and ketones, affording various α-functionalized nitriles. Further derivatization of these products provides a versatile and modular platform for geminal disubstitution of carbonyl oxygens.