Abstract
The behavior of acrylic acid and its methyl ester, methyl methacrylate, alpha‐chloroacrylic acid, and crotonic acid in a sulfuric acid electrolyte at a mercury cathode is described. Dimeric products are not obtained. Reduction to dihydro‐compounds is slow and difficult, but with acrylic and methacrylic derivatives polymerization is rapid. It is shown that this is a result of the cathodic process.Some other metals as cathodes, Pb, Sn, Pt, Bi, Fe, Al, also cause polymerization. A radical mechanism is proposed.Chloroacrylic acid loses most of its chlorine and gives a little acrylic acid polymer and propionic acid.At both lead and mercury cathodes crotonic acid is reduced to butyric acid together with butyl alcohol and crotyl alcohol. The mechanism of this unusual reduction is discussed.
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