Electrochemical Phosphorochalcogenations for the Synthesis of Phosphorochalcogenothioates

We report a robust and environmentally conscious electrosynthetic protocol for the efficient construction of structurally diverse and biologically relevant phosphorochalcogenated compounds. This transformation proceeds through the electrochemical cross-coupling of phosphonothioates with the corresponding thiols or diaryl diselenides using inexpensive NaI or nBu4NI as both a green electrolyte and redox mediator. The reactions are carried out in CH3CN at room temperature under a constant current of 10 mA with Pt/Pt electrodes. This newly developed method offers several notable advantages, including mild and energy-efficient conditions, transition-metal-free operation, short reaction times, moderate to high yields, broad substrate scope, large-scale applicability, operational simplicity, and overall environmental sustainability.