Samarium metal has been used for the first time as electrode material to perform as an efficient and versatile SmI 2 catalytic system assisted by electrochemistry. The established electrocatalytic procedure that excludes any metal additives was successfully applied in various transformations mediated by this useful reagent.

Reported herein is a transition metal- and oxidant-free method for the synthesis of selenyl heteroarenes with diselenides through iodide ion-catalyzed electrolytic selenation. This direct C(sp2)-H selenation strategy, with reduced environmental impact, provides efficient access to a host of selenyl indoles and some other N-heteroarenes under aerobic and galvanostatic conditions.