Kinetic study of electrochemically induced Michael reactions of o-benzoquinones with 2-acetylcyclohexanone and 2-acetylcyclopentanone

The reaction of electrochemically generated o-benzoquinones (2a-f) as Michael acceptors with 2-acetylcyclohexanone (ACH) and 2-acetylcyclopentanone (ACP), as nucleophiles has been studied in various pHs using cyclic voltammetry. The results indicate that the participation of o-benzoquinones (2a-f) in the Michael reaction with acetylcyclohexanone (ACH) to form the corresponding catechol derivatives (4a-f). Based on an EC mechanism, the homogeneous rate constants were estimated by comparing the experimental cyclic voltammetric responses with the digital simulated results. Copyright (c) 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.