Mechanism of electrodimerization of retinal and cinnamaldehyde

Electrochemical reduction of either cinnamaldehyde or retinal in acetonitrile containing 0.5 M. TBAP and water or phenol leads to a mixture of dimeric products. However, electroreduction of either of these aldehydes in the presence of the carbon acid, diethyl malonate, leads to increased yield of pinacol formation. The mechanism of these electrodimerization reactions has been discerned using cyclic voltammetry-variations in peak potential as a function of scan rate, proton donor concentration and concentration of aldehyde have been compared to published diagnostic criteria. Retinal and cinnamaldehyde form dimeric products in a radical-radical coupling pathway. The major mechanistic feature that correlates with product distribution is the association (solvation) of oxygen acids, phenol and water with the radical anion. In contrast, diethyl malonate reacts with the radical anion of either cinnamaldehyde or retinal by a direct proton transfer.