ABSTRACT
For many years, electrochemical studies of hydrocarbon oxidation were conšned to preparativestudiesofaromaticandalkylaromatichydrocarbonsinwater-containingelectrolytesunder constant-currentconditions[1,2].Usually,complexmixtureswereobtained.Theuseofnonaqueous solventsledtosignišcantadvancesinthestudyoftheanodicbehaviorofhydrocarbons.Apioneeringstudy[3]ofthevoltammetryofaromatichydrocarbonsinMeCN/NaClO4 at a vibrating Pt electrodewasfollowedbyalargenumberofelectrochemicalinvestigationsinnonaqueoussolvents. Concurrentpreparativestudies,althoughnotalwaysveryhelpfulinclarifyingthenatureofthe initialelectrochemicalstep,havebeenofgreathelpinšndingoutaboutthenatureofthechemical reactionsfollowingelectrontransfer.Altogetherthesestudies,themajorityofwhichtookplacein the 1970s and 1980s, have provided an excellent insight into the products that may be obtained by
I. Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 891 II.General Mechanistic Considerations ...................................................................................... 892
A.Direct Anodic Oxidation .................................................................................................892 B.Indirect Anodic Oxidation ..............................................................................................894
III.Common Reaction Types and Preparative Aspects ................................................................ 895 A. Addition Reactions .......................................................................................................... 895 B.Substitution Reactions ..................................................................................................... 896
