Electrochemical cleavage of 1,2-diphenylethanes at boron-doped diamond electrodes

Carbon-carbon bond cleavage of 1,2-diphenyl-ethanes in CH3OH-H2SO4-H2O electrolyte on a boron-doped diamond (BDD) electrode has been investigated electrode using 1,2-di-(p-tert-butylphenyl)-ethane and 1,2-dimethoxy-1,2-di-(p-tert-butylphenyl)ethane as model compounds. A reaction mechanism involving methoxyl radicals formed by discharge of methanol on BDD has been proposed in order to explain the behaviour of BDD for the C-C cleavage of 1,2-diphenyl-ethane derivatives. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.