N-Heterocyclic Carbene-Mediated Oxidative Electrosynthesis of Esters in a Microflow Cell.

An efficient N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC)-mediated oxidative esterification of aldehydes has been achieved in an undivided microfluidic electrolysis cell at ambient temperature. Productivities of up to 4.3 g h(-1) in a single pass are demonstrated, with excellent yields and conversions for 19 examples presented. Notably, the oxidative acylation reactions were shown to proceed with a 1:1 stoichiometry of aldehyde and alcohol (for primary alcohols), with remarkably short residence times in the electrolysis cell (<13 s), and without added electrolyte.