Investigation of Electrocatalytic Oxidative Coupling of Arylamines for the Selective Synthesis of Azo Aromatics

An electrochemical oxidative coupling of anilines to selectively provide azo aromatic compounds by using mild reaction conditions has been investigated. Further, the generality and feasibility of the developed protocol were showcased by synthesizing differently substituted azo compounds in moderate to good isolated yields. Additionally, different control experiments were performed to investigate the reaction mechanism. These experiments indicated the formation of hydrazobenzene as an intermediate while ruling out the possibility of nitrobenzene or nitroso-benzene formation during this transformation.