Room Temperature-Stable Electride as a Synthetic Organic Reagent: Application to Pinacol Coupling Reaction in Aqueous Media

Abstract

Room temperature-stable inorganic electride [Ca(24)Al(28)O(68)](4+)4e(-) was employed for a pinacol coupling reaction in aqueous media. Ca-Al-O gel formed by the destruction of the crystal structure of an electride by water media played a key role in transferring the electron to electrophilic aldehydes. Aromatic aldehydes reacted smoothly with moderate to high yields.