A study was conducted to demonstrate an electrochemical approach to investigating proton-coupled electron transfer (PCET) reactions. PCET was employed as a general term for reactions in which an electron and a proton were transferred in two separate steps, or in a single step. Electrochemical PCET reactions were considered in which electrons were flowing into or from an electrode while protons were transferred between acid and base. Several investigations revealed hydrogen-bonding and protonation effects on the redox behavior of quinones through electrochemical investigations. A different type of behavior was also observed upon the addition of a mildly hydrogen-bonding agent, such as trifluoroethanol (TFE) to quinones. The positive shift was accompanied by increasing height of the first peak and broadening and irreversibility of the second wave in this case.
展开▼
