The Electrochemical Reduction of Meta-Dinitrobenzene in Dimethylsulfoxide

The electrochemical reduction of meta-dinitrobenzene (m-DNB) in solu-tions of dimethylsulfoxide was studied on plat inum electrodes. The rotating disk electrode and the potential step technique were used. The diffusion co-efficient of m-DNB in the electrolyte solution was found to be 6.15 x 10-8 cm2/sec. The kinematic viscosity of the test solutions was also determined. The electrochemical reduction in the absence of a proton donor takes place in two steps which correspond to the formation and reduction of the m-DNB radical anion. When a proton donor is added, homogeneous reaction takes place with the radical anion in the solution ear the electrode resulting in an effective increase in the number of electrons transferred to four. This cor-responds to the reduction to m-nitrophenylhydroxylamine. The electrochemical reduction of organic compounds in various media has been investigated by numerous workers. In the absence of proton donors, Hoijt in