Electrochemical Synthesis of the Sex Attractant Pheromone of the Housefly: (Z)-9-Tricosene

The electrochemical synthesis of muscalure, (Z)-9-tricosene( 1 ), has been carried out by coelectrolysis of erucic acid ( 2 ) and propionic acid ( 3 ) in an undivided cell in methanol. To optimize the yield of the cross coupled product 1 , the reaction has been studied in detail by varing different parameters, viz., electrode material, current density, molar ratio of 2 to 3 , degree of partial neutralization and quantity of water in methanol.