Electrodimerization of cyano-substituted derivatives of anthracene and naphthalene

The electrochemistry of cyano-substituted derivatives of naphthalene and anthracene was studied at different temperatures (298–233 K) using slow and fast scan voltammetry with a maximum scan rate of 500 V s⁻¹. All experimental evidence indicates the formation of a dimer by an E_revC_2rev process at the monoanion level. Rate constants for dimerization process were evaluated in six different polar solvents using theoretical working curves for an E_revC_2rev mechanism. Digital simulation was used to verify the accuracy of these rate constants. The results show that the polarity of the solvent influences the rate of dimerization reactions and that radical anions of the studied compounds dimerize under diffusion control.