The electrochemical behavior of vitamins D-2 and D-3 were examined by performing cyclic voltammetry (CV), rotating disk electrode voltammetry, controlled potential electrolysis and chemical oxidation in aprotic organic solvents. Both vitamins were electrochemically oxidized in dichloromethane and acetonitrile (E-p(ox) similar to +0.8 vs. (Fc/Fc(+))/V, where E-p(ox) is the anodic peak potential and Fc = ferrocene) via a one-electron chemically irreversible process on the short voltammetric time scale (<= seconds). Varying the scan rate (0.1 V s(-1) to 20 V s(-1)) and temperature (233 K to 293 K) did not strongly affect the voltammetric response recorded on platinum and glassy carbon electrode surfaces with the oxidation process remaining chemically irreversible over the range of scan rates and temperatures tested, indicating that the initially formed cation radical was not long-lived. Repetitive CV experiments indicated that the oxidized product partially adsorbed onto the electrode surface, resulting in diminishing peak currents with multiple scans. Bulk controlled potential electrolysis of the vitamin D compounds performed by alternating several cycles of oxidative electrolysis and reductive pulsed stripping proved to be effective in stripping the adsorbed species off the electrode surfaces. Longer time scale bulk electrolysis experiments led to the detection of a new oxidation peak appearing at less positive potentials as the electrolysis progressed, suggesting that the compounds underwent oxidation on long time scales (minutes to hours) via a two electron process. The vitamins were most likely initially oxidized via one-electron (E-step) to form a cation radical, which reacts homogeneously in two chemical steps (C-steps) where one chemical step is fast (< 1 s) and one is relatively slow (> 1 s). On the electrolysis timescale, the oxidized product then undergoes a second electron transfer (E) at less positive potentials, so the overall mechanism is an ECCE process. Chemical oxidation of vitamin D-3 with 2 mol equiv of the one-electron oxidant, NO+SbF6- in acetonitrile/dichloromethane 1:4 ratio (v/v) resulted in the complete oxidation of the starting material in an overall two-electron process, with NMR analysis of the reaction mixture indicating that the triene moiety is absent from the products. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.