Topics in Organic Electrochemistry

Organic electrochemistry is a remarkably diverse science. Many study it for its own sake. Such individuals have traditionally been interested primarily in the mechanisms of reactions of organic substances at electrode surfaces, in developing new synthetic applications, or in electrochemical methods for analyzing mixtures of organic substances. In recent years, however, the field has attracted the attention of individuals with a wider variety of research interests. Physical organic chemists have learned that electrochemistry can afford valuable thermodynamic and structural information on organic systems, and that there exists a wealth of electrochemical methods which can be employed to measure the rates and mechanisms of fast organic reactions occurring at electrodes. Organometallic chemists are beginning to discoverand this is still almost virgin territory-the wide range of reaction mechanisms which can take place upon electrochemical oxidation or reduction of organometallic substrates. Physical chemists are attempting to understand the complex processes which occur at the surfaces of semiconductors, and when light impinges on an electrode surface. Others are studying the ways in which the composition of the electrode surface affects the course of electrode processes, and are devising ways to modify the chemical structure of electrode surfaces to achieve specific purposes. The range of contexts in which electrochemistry is now being used in some way in organic research is truly impressive. The very pace and breadth of developments in these areas have created problems of their own. A number of important areas in organic electrochemistry, we felt, were at that stage in their development where they were ripe for a critical review. Some of the topics in this volume have not been reviewed in some time, and others not at all. This alone would argue for their presence here. In addition, however, we felt the need for a collection of reviews addressed to the general organic chemical community, who may