An Electrochemical Way to Generate Amphiphiles from Hydrazones for the Synthesis of 1,2,4‐Triazole Scaffold Cyclic Compounds

An electro‐oxidative cyclization pathway in which hydrazones are selected as starting materials to generate amphiphiles by reacting with benzylamines and benzamides was reported. This strategy successfully prepared a series of 1,2,4‐triazoles in satisfactory yields. Moreover, the use of cheap stainless steel as the anode, the feasibility to conduct the transformation as a one‐pot reaction and the proof that scaling‐up these reactions is possible make this transformation attractive for potential application in industry. Electrochemically forming amphiphiles, hydrazones were chosen as bifunctional reagents analogous to 1,3‐dicarbonyl compounds. About 70 1,2,4‐triazoles have been prepared in moderate to high yields, testifying to the validity and practicality of this strategy. This approach can also be conducted as a one‐pot reaction without intermediate treatments for the construction of 1,2,4‐triazoles by using phenylhydrazines, benzaldehydes and benzylamines as starting materials.