Electrochemistry of Organic Selenium and Tellurium Compounds

Abstract

AbstractElectrochemical synthesis of organic selenium and tellurium compounds as well as different mechanisms of their anodic and cathodic reactions were reviewed. The first part includes the review of the direct synthesis of the title compounds from the elemental selenium and tellurium, the synthesis by anodic reactions using mainly the generation of arylselenium or tellurium cations and the cathodic reduction based on the generation of organoselenium and tellurium anions. These synthetic applications, more interesting for the wider group of organic chemists, are discussed in more detail. Examples of the anodic functionalization (such as acetoxylation or fluorination) leading to new organic chalcogen compounds are also given.The detailed discussion of the anodic behavior of the title compounds is divided into separate parts, each of them devoted to the different class of compounds. They include first of all diaryl, dialkyl and alkylarylselenides and tellurides, most widely investigated for many years, and next diaryl and dialkyl diselenides. However, anodic reactions of some typical heterocyclic selenides and tellurides are also briefly reviewed. Some electrode reactions in which the title compounds play only the role of intermediates are mentioned as well. Finally, electroreduction mechanisms of organoselenium and tellurium compounds are discussed.