Enantioselective electrocatalytic hydrogenation of ethyl pyruvate on carbon supported Pd electrodes

The electrocatalytic hydrogenation of ethyl pyruvate to yield S-ethyl lactate over palladium supported on carbon felt electrodes modified with cinchonidine has been found to yield an enantiomeric excess of 13%. The effect of electrode potential, ethyl pyruvate concentration and cinchonidine have been investigated. The experimental results reported in the present study are in good agreement with the previously reported heterogeneous enantioselective hydrogenation using molecular hydrogen at high pressure. The electrocatalytic driven reaction avoids the dissociation of molecular hydrogen and thus the use of high pressure hydrogen.