Electrochemical reactivity of S-phenacyl-O-ethyl-xanthates in hydroalcoholic (MeOH/H2O 4:1) and anhydrous acetonitrile media

Abstract

The electrochemical behavior of a series of S-phenacyl-O-ethyl-xanthates (O-ethyl-dithiocarbonate acetophenone derivatives) in hydroalcoholic (MeOH/H2O 4:1) and anhydrous media (ACN/TBAPF6) using carbon electrodes was studied. Cyclic voltammetry showed in hydroalcoholic media only two cathodic waves, whereas in ACN one anodic and two cathodic waves were present. The first cathodic wave corresponded to the reduction of the phenylketone group, whereas the first anodic was attributed to the xanthate unit. Macroelectrolysis on graphite and vitreous carbon at anodic and cathodic potentials, let us to explore the synthetic potential of this electrochemical reactions. With some compounds in hydroalcoholic media and using carbon electrodes, polymeric material was deposited on the electrode impeding the reaction; this deposit was characterized by AFM and SEM-EDS. The electroreduction on Ti electrode overcome this problem and gave the corresponding acetophenones (>95%). On the other hand, in ACN, small quantities of the dimeric 1,4-dicarbonyl compounds X-PhCOCH2CH2COPh-X (7–15%), as well as the corresponding acetophenones (ca. 50%) were isolated. Oxidation macroelectrolysis showed a very complicated transformation without synthetic value. The reaction mechanism for the reduction and the homolytic dissociation into the phenacyl radical was supported by DFT calculations.