413. Substituted aromatic glycols prepared by electrolytic reduction

Electrolytic Reduction of Organic Compounds.

“…Acetylene has been selectively reduced (32) to ethylene or ethane at a platinum cathode by controlling the cathode potential. Other workers also have stated (10,12,80,207) that the cathode potential was of primary importance for controlled electroorganic reductions, and additional examples will be found later in this review. The electroreduction of nitrobenzene at an empirically established cathode potential of about -1.5 v. has been studied at a number of different cathodes (210).…”

“…It is also of interest to note in regard to the reduction of p-aminoacetophenone that using an aqueous hydrochloric acid solution at a mercury cathode with a reference potential of -1.1 v. gave the carbinol, while a reference potential of -1.5 v. (10,11) or a tin cathode (196) gave the pinacol. A number of Mannich bases also have been reduced to pinacols (12). Depending upon the reference potential used, either a low-melting or a high-melting form of the pinacol was obtained from p-dimethylaminoacetophenone ( 5).…”