Electrochemical reduction of benzoylformic acid in ionic liquid

Abstract Ionic liquids possess a number of unique properties that make them ideal electrolytes. Electrochemical reduction of benzoylformic acid in room temperature ionic liquids as reaction media could be conducted with excellent performances without any additional supporting electrolyte. Electrolysis at glassy carbon electrode results in the formation of mandelic acid in 91% yield. And the electrochemical behavior of benzoylformic acid was investigated with the technique of cyclic voltammetry.