One-Pot Electrochemical Oxidation of Alcohols to Nitriles Mediated by TEMPO.

One-pot electrochemical oxidation of alcohols to nitriles was carried out with ammonium acetate as the nitrogen source and 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidinyl-l-oxy (TEMPO) as the catalyst. Cyclic voltammetry investigation showed that an obvious redox reaction between alcohol and TEMPO occurred efficiently in the presence of NH₄OAc. The constant potential electrolysis of various functionalized alcohols, especially of benzylic alcohols, afforded the corresponding nitriles in moderate to excellent yields at ambient temperature. A plausible reaction mechanism of one-pot electrochemical oxidation of alcohols to nitriles was proposed based on the cyclic voltammetry investigation, in situ FTIR analysis and preparative electrolysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]