Quinones, alkene radical cations

Aromatic ethers and furans undergo alkoxylation by addition upon electrolysis in an alcohol containing a suitable electrolyte.Other compounds such as aromatic hydrocarbons, alkenes, A -alkyl amides, and ethers lead to alkoxylated products by substitution. Two mechanisms for these electrochemical alkoxylations are currently discussed. The first one consists of direct oxidation of the substrate to give the radical cation which reacts with the alcohol, followed by reoxidation of the intermediate radical and either alcoholysis or elimination of a proton to the final product. In the second mechanism the primary step is the oxidation of the alcoholate to give an alkoxyl radical which then reacts with the substrate, the consequent steps then being the same as above. The formation of quinone acetals in particular seems to proceed via the second mechanism. ... 

Wan and his co-workers have reported the photohydration and photosolvolysis of the alkenes (45). The reactions involve the intermediacy of quinone-methide type intermediates. Flash photolysis of coniferyl alcohol (46) and isoeugenol (47) in acetonitrile has supplied evidence for the formation of the corresponding radical cations. These transient species react readily with water and other hydroxylic solvents to afford 4-vinylphenoxyl radicals. ... 

As already indicated, carbonyl compounds such as ketones, aldehydes, enones, and quinones possess the property to act as effective electron acceptors in the excited state for generating radical anions in the presence of electron-donating partners such as alkenes, aromatics, ruthenium complexes, amines, and alcohols. We will not consider the reactivity of enones and quinones, but we will focus our attention on the behavior of the radical anions formed from ketones and aldehydes. Four different processes can occur from these radical anions including coupling of two radical anions and/or coupling of the radical anion with the radical cation formed from the donor, abstraction of hydrogen from the reaction media to produce alcohols, cyclization, in the case of ce-unsaturated radical anions, and fragmentation when a C -X bond (X=0, C) is present (Scheme 18). 

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