Electrochemical reduction of maleic and fumaric acids and their dimethyl esters in methanol at a mercury electrode

Abstract

The electrochemical reduction of maleic and fumaric acids and their dimethyl esters have been investigated by cyclic voltammetry on HMDE in pure methanol. The cyclic voltammograms of the free acids show two successive reduction waves due to the influence of the different strength of the carboxylic groups on the double bond reduction. The reduction mechanism is verified by examining the effect of different supporting electrolytes, proton donors, and strong bases on the reduction waves. The double bond reduction of the corresponding dimethyl esters takes place in one step.