Recent Advances in Electrochemical Umpolung of Carbonyls to Ketyl Radicals

Abstract

Ketyl radicals are pivotal intermediates for constructing secondary and tertiary alcohols. This review summarizes recent advances (since 2024) in their electrochemical generation via umpolung of carbonyl compounds. Unlike traditional methods, these approaches avoid strong reductants or photocatalysts, offering improved sustainability, enhanced selectivity, and broad functional-group tolerance under mild conditions. The content is organized by reaction type, including radical cross-coupling, additions to unsaturated systems, and related transformations. This review emphasizes mechanistic insights and substrate scope and concludes with an outlook on future directions to inform ongoing research in the field.