Electrochemical Stereoselective Pinacol coupling: an Easy Access to Chiral Diamines

Chiral molecules have already become the key target for synthetic chemists. Thus, it is necessary to create new synthetic routes continuously. Chiral diamines represent an intriguing class of molecules. Indeed, they are useful scaffolds that can be finely functionalised and then used as organocatalysts and ligands for transition metals. Our work is focused on the use of organic electrochemistry to realise an efficient pinacol coupling, avoiding the use of stoichiometric amounts of metal (Mn, Zn, Sm, among others). Starting from an enantiopure 1,2-diamine scaffold, the stereoselective electrochemical pinacol reaction of several bis-imines was successfully realised. Here, we will present the batch and flow electrosynthesis of a library of chiral diamines, which were isolated as enantiomerically pure compounds.