Electrosynthesis of Carbohydrates and Their Derivatives

The success of the Kolbe electrosynthesis and the method of reduction of monosaccharides with sodium amalgam that was introduced by 

In a further patent, Hales showed that it is advantageous to use sodium sulfate acidified with sulfuric acid in order to maintain, during the 

In the industrial production of alditols, not only the desired products, but also side products of the reaction are formed, depending on the 

The pentitol found- is, apparently, a fragmentation product of the action of alkali under the reaction conditions. 

Among the first systematic studies on the electrolytic oxidation of n-glucose and certain other carbohydrates may be mentioned work by Loeb and Neuberg and coworkers. In experiments on the electrooxidation of D-glucose in solution in 5 aqueous sulfuric acid, using a lead anode, a temperature of 16°, and a platinum cathode, Loeb obtained, on the one hand, oxidation products (n-arabinonic acid and D-glucaric acid), and, on the other hand, fragmentation products (d-arabinose and formaldehyde) which were further oxidized to o-arab-inonic acid and n-arabinaric acid, and formic acid, respectively. 

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