Electrochemical Sulfonylation of 4-tert-Butylcatechol in the Presence of N,Nʹʹ-dimethylamino ethanthiol : Kinetic Study by Digital Simulation of Cyclic Voltammograms

Electrochemical oxidation of 4-tert-butylcatechols (1) has been studied in the presence of N,Nʹ-dimethylamino ethanthiol (3) as nucleophile in aqueous solution, using cyclic voltammetry and controlled-potential coulometry. The results indicate the quinone derived from the oxidation of 4-tert-butylcatechols (1) participates in a Michael addition reaction with N,Nʹ-dimethylamino ethanthiol (3) to form the corresponding arylsulfonylbenzenediol 4 as the final product. Based on an EC mechanism, the observed homogeneous rate constants of reaction of some catechol derivatives and 3 were estimated by comparison the experimental cyclic voltammograms with the digital simulated results.