Electrochemical Cross-Coupling between N-(4-Hydroxyphenyl)-sulfonamides and 2-Naphthols: Synthesis of 2,2′-Bis(arenol)s

We herein present an electrochemical method for the dehydrogenative cross-coupling of N-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-sulfonamides and 2-naphthols. This transformation provides a direct and scalable approach to a wide range of C1-symmetric 2,2′-bis(arenol)s with moderate to high yields under mild conditions. Preliminary attempts with the asymmetric variant of this reaction were also performed with ≤55% ee for the synthesis of 2,2′-bis(arenol)s. Control experiments were conducted to propose a plausible mechanism for the reaction.