Electrochemical Study of Phase‐Transfer Catalysis Reactions: The Williamson ether synthesis

Abstract The transfer properties of the ionic species involved in the Williamson ether synthesis by phase‐transfer catalysis were investigated using electrochemical techniques developed for the study of polarised liquid/liquid interfaces. This approach allows the measurement of the apparent partition coefficients of the transferring species. From these data, it is proposed that the role of the phase‐transfer catalyst salt in the reaction mechanism is to establish a Galvani distribution potential difference between the two phases which in turn acts as the driving force for transferring the reactive aqueous ions to the organic phase.