화학공학소재연구정보센터
Journal of the American Chemical Society, Vol.141, No.38, 15450-15455, 2019
TEMPO-Me: An Electrochemically Activated Methylating Agent
Bench- and air-stable 1-methoxy-2,2,6,6-tetra-methylpiperidine (TEMPO-Me) is relatively unreactive at ambient temperature in the absence of an electrochemical stimulus. In this report, we demonstrate that the one-electron electrochemical oxidation of TEMPO-Me produces a powerful electrophilic methylating agent in situ. Our computational and experimental studies are consistent with methylation proceeding via a S(N)2 mechanism, with a strength comparable to the trimethyloxonium cation. A protocol is developed for the electrochemical methylation of aromatic acids using TEMPO-Me.