Electrochemical Oxidation of Catechol in the Presence of Dimethyl Chloromalonate and its Digital Simulation

Abstract

Electrochemistry of catechol has been studied in the presence of dimethyl chloromalonate as a nucleophile in the aqueous solution using cyclic voltammetry and square wave voltammetry methods. The results indicate that the o-quinone derived from catechol participates in Michael addition reaction with dimethyl chloromalonate to form the corresponding adduct. Interestingly, the results provide linear dependence between cathodic peak current and concentration of dimethyl chloromalonate in the ranges of 5 × 10^-6 - 4 × 10^-4 M and 4 × 10^-4 - 1.2 × 10^-3 M with different slopes. Also, the cyclic voltammograms digitally simulated based on ECE mechanism and the following chemical reaction rate constant was estimated.