Electrochemical Oxidation of Iminobibenzyl and Related Compounds

Abstract

Electrochemical oxidation of iminobibenzyl and several related compounds has been investigated in acetonitrile. The mechanism of the oxidation is best described by an ECE process with coupling of the product of an initial one‐electron oxidation in a subsequent but very fast reaction to form a dimeric compound that is further oxidized by an over‐all two‐electron process at potentials more negative than those required for oxidation of the parent compounds. The electrochemistry of these compounds is complicated by the release of protons during the oxidation which protonate the starting materials and the neutral dimerized products rendering them electrochemically inactive. Differences in the electrochemistries of the various coupled products are discussed in terms of structural variations.