[Woodwardt84]

Hi Guys

I intend to do a reduciton of benzonitrile to benzylamine by using an electrochemical set ut.
According to the article, they have used 2*2 cm2 platinum electrode as anode but i only have
access to a platinum wire electrode. How important is this for the reaction? I supose that the electrode
used by the autors is like a sheet...or?
Thanks


Electrochemical Hydrogenation. All reactions were carried out in an undivided cell containing a Ni
cathode and a Pt anode (2×2 cm each). Through a soln. of the nitrile 2 (10 mmol) [1] [12] [13] in anh.
MeOH (40 ml) containing MeONa (0.1 mol) and freshly prepared Raney Ni (1.0 g) [14], O2-free N2
gas was bubbled for 10 –15 min. Then the soln. was electrolyzed at const. current density (10 mA/cm2)
until 4 F/mol of electricity were consumed. Then, the mixture was transferred to a round-bottom flask,
and the solvent was evaporated. The residue was treated with 10% aq. HCl, and the aq. layer was
extracted with Et2ACHTUNGTRENUNGO. The aq. soln. was made strongly alkaline by addition of NaOH and extracted
with Et2ACHTUNGTRENUNGO (3×25 ml). The combined org. extract was dried (Na2SO4) and concentrated under reduced
pressure to afford the appropriated amino sulfonamides 1.

[Borek]

High electrode surface means faster reaction. That is - its speed in terms of moles/unit electrode surface stays constant, but if the electrode is made of sheet you have a lot of surface at hand.