Electrolytic hydrogenation of phenols in aqueous acid solutions

On platinum electrodes, may substituted phenols are electrolytically hydrogenated to form corresponding cyclohexanols with a 100% current efficiency on a platinum electrode in aqueous acid solutions. The reaction mechanism was concluded to be the surface reaction between adsorbed phenols and hydrogen. Studies on the substituent effect showed that the hydrogenation is most favoured for unsubstituted phenol, suggesting that the polarity of adsorbed hydrogen atoms are essentially neutral.