α-Oxidation of ketones using n-cation radicals

Iron(iii) chloride hexahydrate-promoted selective hydroxylation and chlorination of benzyl ketone derivatives for the construction of hetero-quaternary scaffolds

A tunable α-hydroxylation/α-chlorination of benzylketone derivatives for the construction of hetero-quaternary units has been developed by iron(iii) chloride hexahydrate-mediated selective transformations.

Electrocatalytic hydrogenation of catechol on Rh–Al2O3 in different media — pH-Dependent reduction mechanism for intermediate formation

The electrocatalytic hydrogenation of catechol was carried out in aqueous media in different pH ranges with Rh–Al2O3 powder catalyst. The reactions were conducted in an H-cell used as a dynamic cell, with a reticulated vitreous carbon electrode in contact with the catalyst powder as the working electrode. It was shown that the final product is 1,2-cyclohexanediol (cis and trans isomers) and that several intermediates are detected depending on the pH of the solution. Different media, from pH 5 to 13, were studied. One of the intermediates is 1,2-cyclohexanedione, detected at all pH values. The other is 2-hydroxycyclohexan-1-one, only observed at pH ≤ 7. To determine the mechanism of the reactions involved, the electrocatalytic hydrogenation of these intermediates to form the final 1,2-cyclohexanediol product was also conducted, and their UV spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry data recorded. The influence of the nature of the solution was screened by measuring the Henry constant of each molecule.Key words: electrocatalytic hydrogenation of catechol, pH-dependent reduction mechanism, UV–vis spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry, Henry constants.