Off/on Switching of Electric Current as a Strategy for One-Pot Synthesis of Bromoarylpyridines by Cross-Coupling/ C−H Bromination

An “OFF/ON” electric current switching protocol was developed as a new strategy for one-pot organic synthesis. Suzuki-Miyaura coupling of 2-bromopyridines with arylboronic acids in an electrochemical cell was performed without applying an electric current, and subsequently, the Pd-catalyzed electrochemical C−H bromination was conducted using the already-present Pd catalyst to obtain 2-(2-bromoaryl)pyridines as products. The one-pot synthesis of bromoarenes can also be achieved without adding an external Br source in the second step. Furthermore, an OFF/ON/OFF two-times switching protocol also realized the formation of an N-containing teraryl derivative.