Single Electron Transfer in the Cannizzaro Reaction

Article abstract of DOI:10.1021/jo00227a025

Resolved ESR spectra of substituted benzaldehyde radical anions produced in the reactions of substituted benzaldehydes with either NaOH or KO-t-Bu, qualitative correlation of these ESR active species with product formation. high yield of Cannizzaro products under similar conditions in most cases, and isolation of dimer products, which have been shown to probably arise from a radical process, all suggest that the Cannizzaro reaction, under the conditions and with the aldehydes studied, proceeds by a single-electron-transfer mechanism at least to some extent.