Cleavage of sigma-bonds by electroreduction: The EED mechanism

The data on the cleavage of sigma-bonds by electroreduction, found in the l iterature and obtained by the authors, are analyzed. A new EED mechanism is proposed. It is shown, using reactions of reduction of various organic com pounds (halogenorganic compounds, ethers, organic phosphates, nitroamines), that this is a rather common reaction path. The EED processes are intermed iate between processes EDE and ECE. If the reorganization of reacting speci es in the first electron transfer is minimal, either E or ECE process is re alized; with maximum reorganization, the EDE process; and at intermediate v alues, the EED process.