Nickel‐Electrocatalyzed Synthesis of Bifuran‐Based Monomers

Abstract

Bifuran motifs can be accessed with nickel‐bipyridine electrocatalyzed homocouplings of bromine‐substituted methyl furancarboxylates, which, in turn, can be prepared from hemicellulose‐derived furfural. The described protocol uses sustainable carbon‐based graphite electrodes in the simplest setup – an undivided cell with constant current electrolysis. The reported method avoids using a sacrificial anode by employing triethanolamine as an electron donor.