Electrochemical-Induced Transfer Hydrogenation of Imidazopyridines with Secondary Amine as Hydrogen Donor.

Electrochemical-induced transfer hydrogenation (TH) of N-heteroaromatic to construct biologically active functional molecule is an appealing and yet challenging task. We report herein the first selective transfer hydrogenation of imidazopyridine derivatives with secondary amines as the hydrogen donors under electrochemical conditions. The successful conversion of cathode transfer hydrogenation depends on the solvation effect. Importantly, such electrochemical-induced transfer hydrogenation can be easily amplified with excellent efficiency.