The electrochemical behavior of nitrocatechols-boric acid complexes in aqueous solution has been studied using cyclic voltammetry. The results indicate that nitrocatechol-boric acid complex derivatives are involved in the CEC mechanism. In this work, the impact of empirical parameters on the shape of the voltammograms is examined based on a CEC mechanism. In addition, homogeneous rate constants of both the preceding and the following reactions were estimated by comparing the experimental cyclic voltammograms with the digitally simulated results. The calculated dissociation constants for the complexes (K-d) and for ring cleavage of nitroquinone (k(f2)) were found to vary in the following order: 4-nitrocatechol > 3-methylnitrocatechol > 3-metoxynitrocatechol. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.