Electrochemical C—H bond activation has garnered significant attention due to its superior atom economy, abundant reaction sites, environmental friendliness, and the absence of substrate pre-functionalization requirements. C—N/C—O bonds, which are widely present in numerous natural products and pharmaceutical molecules, serve as crucial structural motifs in biological systems, making the development of efficient methodologies for their construction highly consequential. In recent years, with the growing emphasis on green chemistry principles, metal-free electrochemical C—H bond activation for C—N/C—O bond formation has emerged as a prominent research focus, owing to its advantages in avoiding metal residues, cost-effectiveness, and environmental compatibility. This field has witnessed the development of diverse strategies for constructing C—N/C—O bonds via electrochemical C—H activation. The key advancements in metal-free electrochemical C—H activation for C—N/C—O bond formation over the past five years are systematically reviewed, encompassing both direct C—N/C—O bond construction and non-metal-mediated approaches, with particular emphasis on elucidating the under- lying reaction mechanisms.

Key words: electrochemistry, C—H bond activation, green chemistry, metal-free, construction of C—N/C—O bonds