Collect. Czech. Chem. Commun. 1981, 46, 2782-2787
https://doi.org/10.1135/cccc19812782

Correlation and quantum-chemical interpretation of electrochemical reduction of substituted β-chlorovinyl ketones

Jaro Komendaa, Michal Rotha, Hermann Matschinerb and Rolf Voigtländerb

a Department of Theoretical and Physical Chemistry, Purkyně University, 611 37 Brno
b Department of Chemistry, Martin Luther University, Halle-Wittenberg, 402 Halle, G.D.R.

Abstract

p-Substituted phenyl-2-chlorovinyl ketones undergo two-electron reduction at mercury dropping electrode in 0.1M-H2SO4/CH3OH medium. Localization energy calculations have shown the carbon-halogen bond to be the reaction centre in these molecules containing three potential reaction centres; in accordance with results of preparative electrolysis the first reaction step consists in reductive splitting off of the halogen. The half-wave potential values of individual derivatives correlate successfully with the calculated values of localization energies; the deviations found with the non-substituted and phenylsubstituted derivatives differing from the other compounds by magnitude of their π electron system are ascribed to the approximations involved in the simple HMO method.