Electrochemical rhodium catalysed alkyne annulation with pyrazoles through anodic oxidation - a metal oxidant/additive free methodology.

Pyrazole and its derivatives are important azole heteroarenes prevalent in pharmaceutical compounds and have been used as ligands for protein binding, making them valuable targets for synthetic applications. Herein we disclose an electrochemical intermolecular C-H/N-H oxidative annulation of 2-phenylpyrazoles with alkynes using a rhodium(III) redox regime without any external metal oxidants in a water compatible solvent system. Both symmetrical and unsymmetrical alkynes were shown to be compatible with the optimized conditions.