Electrochemical synthesis of new coumarin derivatives of potential biological significance

Electrochemical synthesis of some new coumarin derivatives was carried out via the electrochemical oxidation of 1-(4-(4-hydroxyphenyl)piperazin-1-yl)ethanone (1) in the presence of 4-hydroxycoumarin and 4-hydroxy-6-methylcoumarin (2a,b). The results show that, electrogenerated p-quinone imine, participated in Michael type reaction with 2a,b and after hydrolysis reaction is converted to the corresponding coumarin derivatives. This method provides a one-pot procedure for the synthesis of new coumarin derivatives of potential biological significance. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.