Palladium–hydroquinone catalysed electrochemical 1,4-oxidation of conjugated dienes

The mediator system palladium(II)–hydroquinone was shown to catalyse the anodic oxidation of cyclohexa-1,3-diene in acetic acid to produce selectively either trans- or cis-1,4-diacetoxycyclohex-2-ene (1) depending on the conditions.