Use of Sacrificial Anodes in Synthetic Electrochemistry. Processes Involving Carbon Dioxide.

Electrochemical syntheses involving carbon dioxide by the use of sacrificial anodes in diaphragmless cells are widely applied on a laboratory scale, and in some cases have been scaled up to the pilot plant stage or to industrial production. In several cases noteworthy improvements have been observed in yields and selectivities with respect to the results obtained with conventional diaphragm electrolytic systems. In this review both processes involving carbon dioxide alone and electrocarboxylations of various classes of organic compound are taken into consideration.