Work

eCyanation: A Dual Strategy for Electrochemical Cyanation of Amines Using Potassium Thiocyanate

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Electrophilic cyanation has long relied on highly toxic cyanogen halides, which limits practical use. Here we present eCyanation, an electrochemical approach that uses inexpensive, bench-stable potassium thiocyanate as the cyanide source. Under mild anodic conditions, electrophilic cyanating species are generated from thiocyanate, enabling N- and S-cyanation without handling cyanide salts or isolating cyanogen halides. For oxidation-sensitive substrates, we also provide a complementary two-step variant: bromine-mediated activation of thiocyanate generates a reactive cyanating solution, which is then combined with the nucleophile after electrolysis. Together, these two operational modes offer a practical entry point to electrophilic cyanation chemistry from thiocyanate.

Source: ACS electrochemistry.

DOI: 10.1021/acselectrochem.6c00017

Authors: Shusuke Hattori, Marco Galzignato, Kevin Lam

Institution: University of Greenwich

Language: English

Topic: Radical Photochemical Reactions

Subfield: Organic Chemistry

Field: Chemistry

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: green