Electrochemical Radical Silyl-Oxygenation of Activated Alkenes

An efficient electrochemical radical silyl-oxygenation of electron-deficient alkenes is demonstrated, which gives access to a variety of new highly functionalized silicon-containing molecules, including β-silyl-cyanohydrin derivatives in good yields with excellent chemo- and regio-selectivity. This electrochemical radical silylation process conducts under mild conditions without the use of transition metal catalyst or chemical oxidant and exhibits a wide scope of substrate silanes with high functional-group tolerance. The ability to access silyl radicals using electrochemical Si-H activation offers new perspectives for the synthesis of valuable organosilicon compounds in a sustainable and green manner.