Electrocatalytic potentialities of silver as a cathode for organic halide reductions

The peculiar halide affinity for silver results in an extraordinary electrocatalytic activity for the reduction of halides (either glycosyl halides or, more generally, aryl and alkyl halides). The most striking features are: (a) a reduction potential shift in the positive direction of about 1000 mV with respect to glassy carbon and 500 mV with respect to mercury; (b) a cage effect, evidenced in previous synthetic work concerning bromosugars, promoted by the halide acting as a bridge between the electrode surface and the reacting substrate, which mainly results in dimerization and/or addition products. The above electrocatalytic effect is here investigated by means of a systematic reactivity study on Ag, Hg and glassy carbon cathodes, with a variety of substrates. The effect of the supporting electrolyte is also analysed in detail, providing a first inspection on specific halide/silver interactions in acetonitrile media.