A Facile Hydroxymethylation of Acetylene Derivatives with Paraformaldehyde by Use of an Electrogenerated Base (EG Base)

Abstract Electrolysis of a mixture of paraformaldehyde and terminal acetylene derivatives smoothly provided the corresponding hydroxymethylated compounds in high yields by passing less than 1 F/mol of electricity. Electroreduction of paraformaldehyde generated in situ an efficient base (EG base), which catalyzed hydroxymethylation of the acetylenes.