A NaCl-mediated electrochemical oxidation of amino acid
carbamates
(R1 = Boc, Cbz) afforded α-methoxylated α-amino
acids. Subsequent acid-catalyzed elimination delivered valuable dehydroamino
acid derivatives. The simplicity of our setup using graphite-electrodes
was showcased, producing N-Boc-ΔAla-OMe on
a decagram scale.