The electrolytic synthesis of poly(2,6-dimethyl-!A-phenylene0xide) (PPO), 3,3',5,5'-tetramethyl-4,4'-diphenoquinone (TMDPQ), and 2,2',6,6'-tetramethyl-1, l'-biphenol (TMBP) from 2,6-dimethytphenol in various electrolytic solutions was carried out. They were Characterized by chemical (using IR absorption spectroscopy, 1H-and~3C-NMR technique, etc.) and electrochemical means. The results were compared with those obtained for the oxidative coupling of 2,6-dimethylphenol in the presence of oxygen using a copper-amine complex as the catalyst. The electrolysis conditions favorable for the preparation of the above compounds were as follows. The electrolysis at a Pt electrode in basic electrolytic solutions such as NaOH-containing methanol and (C2Hs)2NH-containing acetonitrile sOlutions is preferable for PPO preparation, while neutral acetonitrile solution is suitable for the preparation of TMDPQ and TMBP. In addition on the basis of the results obtained, the possible mechanism of the anodic oxidation of 2,6-dimethylphenol is discussed.A number of papers have reported the oxidative coupling of phenolic compounds since poly(2,6-dimethyl-l,4-phenyleneoxide) was first prepared by Hay et at. (1,2) from 2,6-dimethylphenol in the presence of oxygen using a copper.amine complex as the catalyst. The previous papers (1-7) demonstrate that the oxidative coupling of a 2,6-disubstituted phenol mainly leads to two kinds of products, i.e., poly(2,6-disubstituted-l,4-phenyleneoxide) and diphenoquinone via carbon-oxygen coupling and carbon-carbon coupling, respectively, depending on the preparation conditions (e.g., the kind of the catalyst, the kind of the substituent group, the presence or absence of basic additives, and temperature) (Scheme 1)The electrochemical oxidation of phenolic compounds has also been carried out by replacement of the catalytic oxidation with anodic oxidation and has been summarized in several recent review articles (8-18). Two main types of the electrolysis products have been prepared; the polymerie eompounds of the polyoxyphenylene type and the dimeric compounds. Bruno et al. (11) have reported that the anodic polymerization of substituted phenols is performed successfully in alcohols containing alkaline bases. They have found that passivating protective polyoxyphenylene films, which have thicknesses ranging from -0.05 to 0.15 ~xm and which are homogeneous and adherent, can be formed on several metal substrates. Mengoli et at. (9,17,18) have found that the electrolysis of systems based on the phenol (as the main monomer)/2-ehlorophenol/ethylenediamine gives thiek homogeneous eoatings of more than 20 fxm. This behavior, which is mainly due to the presence of ethylenediamine, was explained by assuming that ethylenediamine may adsorb on the anode in competition with phenoxide anions. Thus the electropolymerization no longer takes place in situ but develops into the solution as the competitive adsorption of the amine breaks the coupling reaction along the plane of the electrode. Recently, Tsuchida et al. (19) hav...