Electrogenerated Base (EG Base) Induced Hydroxymethylation of the Side Chain of Nitroalkylbenzenes with Paraformaldehyde

Article abstract of DOI:10.1021/jo00366a012

Hydroxymethylation of nitroalkylbenzenes with paraformaldehyde was accomplished by electrolysis in a (CH2O)n-DMF-Et4NOTs-(Pt electrode) system.The reaction was found to be catalytic (0.25 faraday/mol) and dependent on the electroreduction of formaldehyde and/or nitroalkylbenzene.A variety of nitroalkylbenzenes were transformed to their corresponding mono- and/or bishydroxymethylated derivatives in good yield.The product yield and selectivity were shown to depend on the order of reagent addition, solvent, supporting electrolyte, and structure of the starting nitroalkylbenzenes.A plausible mechanism of the generation of base catalysts (EG base) in electroreductive media is discussed.