Paired electrochemical synthesis of new organosulfone derivatives

Electrochemical oxidation of “cathodically generated 4-aminocatechol (2)” has been studied in the presence of 4-toluenesulfinic acid (4a) and benzenesulfinic acid (4b) as nucleophiles in aqueous solutions, using cyclic voltammetry and controlled-potential coulometry. The results indicate that the o-benzoquinone derived from 4-aminocatechol (2) participates in Michael addition reaction with 4a or 4b to form the corresponding new organosulfone derivatives (5a and 5b). In this work we have proposed a mechanism for the electrode process. A Fe(CN)63−/Fe(CN)64− redox mediator was used for the anodic oxidation of 4-aminocatechol (2) to the corresponding o-quinone 3. The indirect electrochemical process consists of a multi-step such as (a) cathodic reduction of 4-nitrocatechol (1) to 4-aminocatechol (2), (b) chemical oxidation of 4-aminocatechol (2) to 4-aminoquinone (3) with the resulting Fe(CN)63−, (c) the chemical reaction of 4-aminoquinone (3) with 4-toluenesulfinic acid (4a) or benzenesulfinic acid (4b), and (d) the anodic regeneration of Fe(CN)63−. The paired electrochemical synthesis of organosulfone derivatives (5a and 5b) has been successfully performed in an one-pot process at carbon rod electrode as a working and platinum as a counter electrode in an undivided cell.