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The study and application of transition metal hydrides (TMHs) has been an active area of chemical research since the early 1960s 1 , for energy storage, through the reduction of protons to generate hydrogen 2 , 3 , and for organic synthesis, for the functionalization of unsaturated C–C, C–O and C–N bonds 4 , 5 . In the former instance, electrochemical means for driving such reactivity has been common place since the 1950s 6 but the use of stoichiometric exogenous organic- and metal-based reductants to harness the power of TMHs in synthetic chemistry remains the norm. In particular, cobalt-based TMHs have found widespread use for the derivatization of olefins and alkynes in complex molecule construction, often by a net hydrogen atom transfer (HAT) 7 . Here we show how an electrocatalytic approach inspired by decades of energy storage research can be made use of in the context of modern organic synthesis. This strategy not only offers benefits in terms of sustainability and efficiency but also enables enhanced chemoselectivity and distinct, tunable reactivity. Ten different reaction manifolds across dozens of substrates are exemplified, along with detailed mechanistic insights into this scalable electrochemical entry into Co–H generation that takes place through a low-valent intermediate. A perspective is given on how an electrocatalytic approach, inspired by decades of energy storage studies, can be used in the context of efficient cobalt-hydride generation with a variety of applications in modern organic synthesis.

The significance of α-functionalization of carbonyl compounds arises from its frequent use in synthetic organic chemistry. Consequently, there is a substantial and constant demand for the creation of strategies that facilitate the efficient execution of such valuable transformation. In this context, herein is presented a universal electrochemical oxidative platform for the α- derivatization of ketones with nucleophiles, employing an umpolung reactivity. This approach has been successfully employed in five distinct transformations involving C-C and C-X bond formation via straightforward nucleophilic substitution or cycloaddition reaction pathways. Furthermore, the implementation of this methodology in flow using a commercially available reactor demonstrated its inherent scalability.