Reduction of some organic compounds by electrochemically generated titanium(III)

The electrochemical oxidation of titanium metal in the presence of an essentially non-aqueous electrolyte phase yields titanium(III) species in solution. It has been shown that this method of generating TiX3 (X = balancing anion) forms the basis of a convenient way of reducing insitu certain organic functional groups (sulfoxide, oxime, haloketone, vinyl dicarboxylic acid, and nitro aromatics). The stoichiometry of the reaction has been established in each case, and corresponds to the oxidation of TiX3 and the formation of the appropriate organic compound. The yields are comparable to those reported in experiments using aqueous titanous chloride.