Electrochemical Reductive Amination Reactions under Continuous-Flow Conditions

Reductive amination is one of the most versatile and widely employed strategies for C–N bond formation, enabling the synthesis of structurally diverse amines commonly found in pharmaceuticals,¹ natural products, and other bioactive molecules. Herein, we report the development of a continuous-flow electrochemical platform for reductive amination based on the in-situ reduction of imine intermediates. The methodology was established through the systematic optimization of electrochemical parameters and reaction conditions, affording the desired model amine in up to 93% yield under continuous-flow conditions. By combining electrochemical synthesis with continuous-flow processing, the platform benefits from improved process control, enhanced safety, efficient heat and mass transfer, and straightforward scalability.² Ongoing studies are focused on increasing process productivity, expanding the substrate scope towards pharmaceutically relevant building blocks and API intermediates, and demonstrating the applicability of the methodology through gram-scale continuous-flow synthesis.³