Ampere‐Level Electrosynthesis of <sup>15</sup>N‐Labeled Oximes by Alloy Synergy Activation and Hydroxylamine Overhydrogenation Inhibition
<sup>15</sup>N-labeled molecules are essential for industrial drug development and medical imageology. However, the synthesis of <sup>15</sup>N-labeled molecules suffers from the complex procedure of de novo synthesis and harsh conditions. Here, we propose an electrochemical strategy to synthesize <sup>15</sup>N-labeled oximes (<sup>15</sup>N-oximes) from <sup>15</sup>N-labeled nitrites (<sup>15</sup>NO<sub>2</sub> <sup>-</sup>) and aldehydes/ketones. Matching the adsorption and activation of H<sub>2</sub>O and <sup>15</sup>NO<sub>2</sub> <sup>-</sup> and inhibiting <sup>15</sup>NH<sub>2</sub>OH overhydrogenation are the keys to realizing efficient ampere-level electrosynthesis of <sup>15</sup>N-labeled oximes. A bismuth-molybdenum (BiMo) alloy catalyst is subsequently designed, in which Bi acts as the <sup>15</sup>NO<sub>2</sub> <sup>-</sup> activation site, whereas Mo serves as the H<sub>2</sub>O activation site. The precisely controlled atomic ratio of Mo and Bi ensures that there is sufficient but not excessive active hydrogen provided for <sup>15</sup>NO<sub>2</sub> <sup>-</sup> hydrogenation and therefore accelerates the reaction rate. Moreover, Mo incorporation increases the energy barrier of <sup>15</sup>NH<sub>2</sub>OH overhydrogenation and thus improves the Faradaic efficiency (FE) of <sup>15</sup>N-oxime. This strategy enables scale-up electrosynthesis with a 76% FE and 88% yield at a current of 3.0 A to obtain 3.5 g of <sup>15</sup>N-cyclohexanone oxime within 1.5 h. The application potential is highlighted by the methodological universality of diverse <sup>15</sup>N-oximes, the extended synthesis of <sup>15</sup>N-labeled drug molecules and their application in 2D magnetic resonance imaging visualization.
Authors
- Yongmeng Wu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2778-6018)
- Jinghui Zhao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7714-9733)
- Cuibo Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9578-8173)
- Bin Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0542-1819)
- Rong Yang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7529-2923)
Institutions
- Tianjin University (CN)
- Zero to Three (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Angewandte Chemie International Edition
- Published
- 2025-08-31
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.202516528
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Chemical Reactions and Isotopes
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.79
Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China