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Updated: Jan 9, 2026

Retropinacol/Cross-pinacol Coupling Reactions - A Catalytic Access to 1,2-Unsymmetrical Diols
Published on: April 4, 2014
Interfacial polarization enables dual pathways for electrosynthesis of propyl acetate
Xichang Liu1, Yimin Jiang1, Wei Chen1
1State Key Laboratory of Chemo and Biosensing, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Advanced Catalytic Engineering Research Center of the Ministry of Education, Hunan University Changsha China.
Abstract:
The direct electrosynthesis of value-added esters from carbon monoxide (CO) represents a promising strategy for sustainable carbon utilization. In this study, we report the synthesis of propyl acetate with a faradaic efficiency of 16.5% and a partial current density reaching up to 24.7 mA cm-2 via CO electrolysis on a polarized Cu/Cu3N interface. Comprehensive mechanistic investigations elucidate a dual-pathway mechanism: ketene undergoes nucleophilic addition with n-propanol; and C2-C3 coupling occurs between nucleophilic *CH2CO and electrophilic intermediates such as *COHCOCO. Charge redistribution and interfacial polarization induced by the Cu/Cu3N interface reduce the activation barrier for the electrophilic addition between C2-C3 intermediates. These findings offer an alternative and sustainable pathway for the synthesis of esters through direct CO electroreduction.
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