Issue 16, 2024

A guide to troubleshooting metal sacrificial anodes for organic electrosynthesis

Abstract

The development of reductive electrosynthetic reactions is often enabled by the oxidation of a sacrificial metal anode, which charge-balances the reductive reaction of interest occurring at the cathode. The metal oxidation is frequently assumed to be straightforward and innocent relative to the chemistry of interest, but several processes can interfere with ideal sacrificial anode behavior, thereby limiting the success of reductive electrosynthetic reactions. These issues are compounded by a lack of reported observations and characterization of the anodes themselves, even when a failure at the anode is observed. Here, we weave lessons from electrochemistry, interfacial characterization, and organic synthesis to share strategies for overcoming issues related to sacrificial anodes in electrosynthesis. We highlight common but underexplored challenges with sacrificial anodes that cause reactions to fail, including detrimental side reactions between the anode or its cations and the components of the organic reaction, passivation of the anode surface by an insulating native surface film, accumulation of insulating byproducts at the anode surface during the reaction, and competitive reduction of sacrificial metal cations at the cathode. For each case, we propose experiments to diagnose and characterize the anode and explore troubleshooting strategies to overcome the challenge. We conclude by highlighting open questions in the field of sacrificial-anode-driven electrosynthesis and by indicating alternatives to traditional sacrificial anodes that could streamline reaction optimization.

Graphical abstract: A guide to troubleshooting metal sacrificial anodes for organic electrosynthesis

Article information

Article type
Perspective
Submitted
22 dec 2023
Accepted
26 feb 2024
First published
06 mar 2024
This article is Open Access

All publication charges for this article have been paid for by the Royal Society of Chemistry
Creative Commons BY-NC license

Chem. Sci., 2024,15, 5814-5831

A guide to troubleshooting metal sacrificial anodes for organic electrosynthesis

S. D. Ware, W. Zhang, W. Guan, S. Lin and K. A. See, Chem. Sci., 2024, 15, 5814 DOI: 10.1039/D3SC06885D

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