Epoxides are ubiquitous as chemical intermediates used in the manufacture of diverse products, including textiles, plastics, and pharmaceuticals. The wet chemical and thermochemical routes used today suffer from large carbon dioxide footprints, stoichiometric waste products, and hazardous reagents. We have developed a route whereby olefins can be anodically epoxidized at room temperature and ambient pressure, using water as the oxygen atom source. At the cathode, hydrogen is selectively generated. Overall, this reaction provides a means by which the oxidizing equivalents can go towards generating a valuable product rather than generating oxygen which is simply vented in a conventional water electrolyzer. We have developed mechanistic understanding of how water is oxidized, providing means by which the selectivity for epoxidation can be rationally improved.  <br/>

Electrochemical epoxidation of olefins using water as oxygen-atom source

2019 Fall National Meeting

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