Molecular Electro(Photo)Catalysis: Triarylamine and Triarylimidazole Derivatives Mediated Oxidation Systems in Organic Electrosynthesis

Abstract

AbstractOrganic electrosynthesis has become a green, efficient and sustainable alternative to traditional organic transformation for the redox reactions. In this connection, indirect electrolysis employing redox mediators is attaining increasing significance as it offers a chance to improve reaction selectivity and avoids the over‐oxidation/reduction issues encountered in direct electrolysis. Triarylamines and triarylimidazoles, as representative organic molecular mediators, have attracted widespread attention in recent years due to the advantages of well‐defined easy structural modification and tunable redox ability. Hence, in this minireview, the recent growth of triarylamine and triarylimidazole derivatives mediated electrochemical oxidation reactions were presented, highlighting the structural optimization, electrochemical performance and reaction mechanism of these organic mediators. Moreover, the photocatalytic and photoelectrocatalytic cases with these molecular mediators were also highlighted. To conclude, the current challenges and future prospects of this field are also discussed.