Delineating a greener synthesis of a key sartan intermediate by photochemical benzylic bromination with electrochemically generated bromine

An electrochemical bromine generation and photochemical benzylic mono-bromination to afford an advanced brominated intermediate of sartan group of drugs using NaBr/AcOH milieu in an undivided electrochemical cell using graphite and stainless steel electrodes in both batch and continuous flow has been reported for the first time. The reported procedure is simple, green, safe, robust, selective and reproducible. This process has the potential to be developed into a scalable and commercial process for several sartan drug intermediates.