Written by J.A Dobado | Last Updated on September 15, 2025
What is Tafel rearrangement?
The Tafel rearrangement refers to a chemical reaction that involves the electrolytic reduction of substituted acetoacetic esters using a lead cathode in alcoholic sulfuric acid (H2SO4). During the reaction, the carbon skeleton of the ester undergoes a transformation, resulting in the production of hydrocarbons that have the same number of carbon atoms as the starting material.
References
Tafel, J. and Hahl, H. (1907), Vollständige Reduktion des Benzylacetessigesters. [Complete reduction of the benzylacetoacetic ester.] Ber. Dtsch. Chem. Ges., 40: 3312-3318. https://doi.org/10.1002/cber.190704003102
Full Professor of Organic Chemistry at the University of Granada, with a long-standing research career in Computational Chemistry and molecular modeling and design.