Use of Boron-Doped Diamond Electrodes in Electro-Organic Synthesis

Boron-doped diamond is a powerful and innovative material with outstanding properties, experiencing a strongly emerging interest in the chemical society as electrode material. BDD is generally used as a p-doped semiconductor that can be applied for the disinfection and detoxification of waste-water since very reactive intermediates can be formed. Besides this destructive performance of BDD electrodes the extraordinary characteristics can also be successfully employed in electro-synthetic transformations. The performance is usually beyond and much superior to common electrode materials. A key step for the broad interdisciplinary field of application of this particular electrode material is the direct generation of oxyl radicals by electrochemical oxidation. The intention of this mini-review is to provide the reader a brief overview of the current state of research and to illustrate the different fields of application. The methods applied are critically reviewed.