Benzotriazoles and benzotriazinones are pivotal N-heterocycles in organic synthesis, drug discovery, and materials science. Herein, we present a safe electrochemical strategy that directly transforms 2-nitroanilines and 2-nitrobenzamides into these heterocycles through in situ nitro reduction and diazotization. By precisely tuning the redox potentials and employing suitable electrodes, unstable diazonium intermediates are generated and consumed in a controlled manner, avoiding their over-reduction. This approach offers a scalable synthetic route directly from nitro precursors.
Zhu et al. (Wed,) studied this question.