Electrochemical Reduction of Mono- and Dihalothiophenes at Carbon Cathodes in Dimethylformamide. First Example of an Electrolytically Induced Halogen Dance.
Cyclic voltammetry and controlled-potential electrolysis have been employed to probe the electrochemical reduction of a number of mono- and dihalothiophenes at carbon cathodes in dimethylformamide containing tetramethylammonium perchlorate. Reduction of 2-bromo-, 3-bromo-, 2-chloro-, 3-chloro-, and 2-iodothiophene gives rise to a single irreversible cyclic voltammetric wave for each compound that corresponds to the two-electron cleavage of the carbon-halogen bond, and thiophene is obtained as the only product. Cyclic voltammograms for the reduction of 2,3-dibromo-, 2,4-dibromo-, 2,5-dibromo-, 3,4-dibromo-, 2-bromo-5-chloro-, and 3-bromo-2-chlorothiophene each exhibit a pair of irreversible two-electron waves. Electrolyses of either 2,3-dibromo- or 2,4-dibromothiophene at potentials corresponding to the first voltammetric wave yield a two-to-one mixture of 3-bromo- and 3,4-dibromothiophene; under similar conditions, electrolyses of 2,5-dibromothiophene give a mixture of 2-bromo-, 3-bromo-, and 3,4-dibromothiophene, electrolyses of 2-bromo-5-chlorothiophene afford a mixture of 3-bromo-, 3,4-dibromo-, 3-bromo-2-chloro-, 4-bromo-2-chloro-, and 2-chlorothiophene, and electrolyses of 3-bromo-2-chlorothiophene yield 2-chlorothiophene. Aside from the last result, these product distributions appear to arise from an electrolytically induced halogen dance. When electrolyses of the dibromothiophenes and of 2-bromo-5-chloro- and 3-bromo-2-chlorothiophene are performed at potentials that correspond to the second voltammetric wave, thiophene is the only product obtained.
Mubarak
Mohammad S.
MS
Department of Chemistry, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana 47405.
Peters
Dennis G.
DG