Paired Electrosynthesis at Interdigitated Microband Array Electrodes without Intentionally Added Electrolyte: C–C Coupling of Dicyanobenzenes with Methanol
The formation of substituted benzyl alcohols from dicyanobenzenes and methanol (C-C coupling) is demonstrated as a model system for paired electrosynthesis and investigated at interdigitated microband array electrodes in a microreactor with/without intentionally added supporting electrolyte. A Pt-Pt microband array with 5 μm bands separated by 5 μm gaps is employed in a dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) solvent. Yields are optimized to approximately 50% at the point of 100% conversion. The mechanism is investigated by employing isotope labeling (CD<sub>3</sub>OD, CH<sub>3</sub>OD, <i>d</i> <sub>6</sub>-DMSO, <sup>13</sup>CH<sub>3</sub>OH). The methylene group (<sup>12</sup>C or <sup>13</sup>C) is obtained with H<sub>2</sub>, D<sub>2</sub>, and DH substitution patterns, and a hypothesis for a corresponding mechanism is discussed aided with density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Implications for sustainable electrosynthesis at paired microband electrodes are discussed.
Authors
- James E. Taylor
- Frank Marken (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3177-4562)
- Claire L. McMullin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4924-2890)
- Tingran Liu
Institutions
- University of Bath (GB)
Publication Details
- Journal
- The Journal of Physical Chemistry C
- Published
- 2025-02-03
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcc.4c07899
- Citations
- 3
- Primary Topic
- Radical Photochemical Reactions
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 2.81
Funders
- China Scholarship Council
- Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council