Generation of Flavor-Active Compounds by Electrochemical Oxidation of (R)-Limonene.

Terpenes may be converted by electrochemical oxidation to various oxidized products with appealing aroma properties. In this study, (R)-limonene was anodically oxidized in the presence of ethanol, and the resulting mixture exhibited a pleasing fruity, herbal, citrus-like, and resinous odor. The aroma-active compounds were purified by means of preparative high-performance liquid chromatography, and their structures were elucidated by means of gas chromatography (GC)-mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. In addition, the odor of the isolated compounds was determined by means of GC-olfactometry. Seventeen compounds were isolated, and for only four of them, analytical data had been reported previously in the literature. Furthermore, only for two of the compounds, an odor description had been available in the literature.

Efficient anodic and direct phenol-arene C,C cross-coupling: the benign role of water or methanol.

C,C cross-coupling reactions for the synthesis of nonsymmetrical biaryls represent one of the most significant transformations in contemporary organic chemistry. A variety of useful synthetic methods have been developed in recent decades, since nonsymmetrical biaryls play an evident role in natural product synthesis, as ligand systems in homogeneous catalysis and materials science. Transformation of simple arenes by direct C,H activation belongs to the cutting-edge strategies for creating biaryls; in particular the 2-fold C,H activation is of significant interest. However, in most examples very costly noble metal catalysts, ligand systems, and significant amount of waste-producing oxidants are required. Electrochemical procedures are considered as inherently "green" methods, because only electrons are required and therefore, no reagent waste is produced. Here, we report a metal-free electrochemical method for cross-coupling between phenols and arenes using boron-doped diamond (BDD) anodes in fluorinated media. Our sustainable approach requires no leaving functionalities. Employing water or methanol as mediator represents the key improvement for achieving nonsymmetrical biaryls with superb selectivity and synthetic attractive yields.

Boron-doped diamond electrodes for electroorganic chemistry.

Boron-doped diamond (BDD) electrodes provide an unusually wide electrochemical window in protic media, since there exist large offset potentials for the evolution of molecular hydrogen and oxygen, respectively. At the anode, alcohols are specifically converted to alkoxyl radicals. These can be used for chemical synthesis. When the enormous reactivity of such intermediate spin centers is not controlled, mineralization or electrochemical incineration dominates. Efficient strategies include either high substrate concentrations or fluorinated alcohols which seem to stabilize the spin centers in the course of reaction.

Highly selective electrosynthesis of biphenols on graphite electrodes in fluorinated media.

The direct and selective phenol coupling reaction that provides biphenols still represents a challenge in organic synthesis. The recently developed electrosynthesis on boron-doped diamond anodes with fluorinated additives was developed further to allow the application to less-expensive electrodes and fluorinated media. This advanced protocol allows the highly selective anodic phenol coupling reaction on graphite with a broad scope.

Anodic coupling of guaiacol derivatives on boron-doped diamond electrodes.

The anodic treatment of guaiacol derivatives on boron-doped diamond electrodes (BDD) provides a direct access to nonsymmetrical biphenols, which would require a multistep sequence by conventional methods. Despite the destructive nature of BDD anodes they can be exploited for chemical synthesis.

ortho-Selective phenol-coupling reaction by anodic treatment on boron-doped diamond electrode using fluorinated alcohols.

Enlarged scope by fluorinated mediators: Oxyl radicals are easily formed on boron-doped diamond (BDD) electrodes and can be exploited for the ortho-selective coupling to the corresponding biphenols (see scheme). At partial conversion, a clean transformation is achieved that can be applied to electron-rich as well as fluorinated phenols.