Chemistry Letters, Vol.45, No.7, 816-818, 2016
In Situ Generation of Trichloromethyl Anion and Efficient Reaction with Benzaldehyde in an Electrochemical Flow Microreactor
We demonstrated in situ preparation of unstable trichloromethyl anion and its reaction with benzaldehyde in an electrochemical flow microreactor at ambient temperature. The trichloromethyl anion was prepared by the reaction of chloroform with an electrogenerated base. The generated unstable anion was rapidly used for following reaction with benzaldehyde before decomposition, and 2,2,2-trichloro-1-phenylethanol was obtained in a reasonable yield.