Kinetic study of electrochemically induced Michael reaction of1,4-dihydroxyanthraquinone with acetylacetone and benzoylacetone

The electrochemical oxidation of 1,4-dihydroxyanthraquinone has been studied in the presence of acetylacetone and benzoylacetone as nucleophiles in a mixture of ethanol/water by means of cyclic voltammetry as a diagnostic technique. The results indicate the participation of electrochemically produced anthraquinone in the Michael addition reaction with acetylacetone and benzoylacetone to form the corresponding new anthraquinone derivatives. On the basis of the EC mechanism, the observed homogeneous rate constants (k_obs) of the reaction of anthraquinone with acetylacetone and benzoylacetone were estimated by comparing the experimental cyclic voltammograms with the digitally simulated results.