Abstract: The oxidation of alcohols to ketones constitutes a crucial aspect of undergraduate organic chemistry theory. Benzophenone, the resultant product of the reaction, finds extensive applications in fields such as photoinitiators and UV-curable coatings. Compounds featuring benzophenone as their backbone also hold significance in targeted drug release. Traditional methods for benzophenone synthesis suffer from long reaction time, the use of heavy metal oxidation reagents, and the complexity of dehydrogenation catalyst preparation, limiting their suitability for undergraduate laboratory teaching. This paper presents an environmentally friendly electrochemical synthesis approach for benzophenone. The method employs potassium iodide as the electrolyte and a mixed solvent of acetonitrile and water, facilitating the direct electrolytic oxidation of diphenylmethanol to benzophenone without the need for additional oxidation or dehydrogenation agents. This improved method boasts shorter reaction time, higher yield, simplified post-processing, and employs inexpensive, readily available reagents, making it ideal for introductory organic chemistry experiments. The experiment integrates thin-layer chromatography (TLC), melting point determination, ¹HNMR, and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry to analyze and identify reaction systems or products, thereby enhancing students’ proficiency in experimental operations and product identification.

Key words: Benzophenone, Diphenylmethanol, Electrochemical oxidation