An electrochemical flow cell for the convenient oxidation of Furfuryl alcohols

Effecting oxidation reactions electrochemically dispenses with the need for reactive and potentially toxic reagents but barriers remain towards wide adoption of the technique, in part because of negative prior experiences with batch-mode reactions. Electrochemical flow set-ups fix the electrodes to maintain a uniformly narrow gap, and can operate continuously until a desired quantity of substrate has been processed. We describe the fabrication of an electrochemical flow cell and its application in the transformation of furfuryl alcohols into hydroxypyrones. The cell is simple to operate with inexpensive equipment under a constant current regime, flow rate being controlled by a standard laboratory syringe pump. With the addition of a trace of NaClO4 as electrolyte to provide a stable current flow, the oxidations proceed routinely with a current efficiency of around 60%.