The electrochemical synthesis of o-benzoquinones and their in situ transformation is a versatile approach for the synthesis of polyhydroxylated aromatics. In the present paper, the electrochemical oxidation of catechol in the presence of ketene N,S-acetals as N,Cdoubly nucleophiles was first investigated using cyclic voltammetry technique. Then preparative scale of electrolysis was carried out to demonstrate that polyfunctionalized indoles could be one-pot synthesized under constant current electrolysis conditions. Finally, the reaction mechanism was proposed.

Anodic oxidation, catechols, ketene N, S-acetals, polyhydroxylated indoles.

College of Life Science & Bioengineering, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, China.