A mechanistic study on use of alternating potential (i. e. electrode polarity switching) in synthetic organic electrochemical method development using the IKA ElectraSyn 2.0 is described. Unexpected product selectivity challenges revealed that alternating potential facilitated direct, rather than mediated, electrochemical benzylic C−H oxidation of toluene derivatives. Whilst constant potential irrespective of the direction of electrode polarity was expected, our in‐depth analysis revealed changes in the magnitude of applied potential with periodic switching of electrode polarity. These findings highlight an equipment engineering concern that is likely to influence and inform optimization strategies for a wide range of synthetic organic electrochemical methods under development.

中文翻译：

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在电化学反应中使用交流电的机制和谨慎案例研究

描述了在使用IKA ElectraSyn 2.0进行合成有机电化学方法开发中使用交流电（即电极极性切换）的机制研究。意外的产品选择性挑战表明，交流电势促进了甲苯衍生物的直接而不是介导的电化学苄基CH氧化。尽管预期电势恒定，而与电极极性的方向无关，但我们的深入分析显示，随着电极极性的周期性切换，施加电势的大小也会发生变化。这些发现凸显了设备工程方面的关注，这可能会影响正在开发的各种合成有机电化学方法的优化策略。