Investigating radical cation chain processes in the electrocatalytic Diels–Alder reaction

Single electron transfer (SET)-triggered radical ion-based reactions have proven to be powerful options in synthetic organic chemistry. Although unique chain processes have been proposed in various photo- and electrochemical radical ion-based transformations, the turnover number, also referred to as catalytic efficiency, remains unclear in most cases. Herein, we disclose our investigations of radical cation chain processes in the electrocatalytic Diels-Alder reaction, leading to a scalable synthesis. A gram-scale synthesis was achieved with high current efficiency of up to 8000%. The reaction monitoring profiles showed sigmoidal curves with induction periods, suggesting the involvement of intermediate(s) in the rate determining step.