Oxidation by Reduction: Efficient and Selective Oxidation of Alcohols by the Electrocatalytic Reduction of Peroxydisulfate

Alcohol oxidation is an important class of reaction that is traditionally performed under harsh conditions and most often requires the use of organometallic compounds or transition metal complexes as catalysts. Here, we introduce a new electrochemical synthetic method, referred to as reductive oxidation, in which alcohol oxidation is initiated by the redox-mediated electrocatalytic reduction of peroxydisulfate to generate the highly oxidizing sulfate radical anion. Thus, and counter-intuitively, alcohol oxidation occurs as a result of an electrochemical reduction reaction. This approach provides a selective synthetic route for the oxidation of alcohols carried out under mild conditions to aldehydes, ketones, and carboxylic acids with up to 99% conversion yields. First-principles density functional theory calculations, ab initio molecular dynamics simulations, cyclic voltammetry, and finite difference simulations are presented that support and provide additional insights into the S₂O₈^2--mediated oxidation of benzyl alcohol to benzaldehyde.