Several hydroquinolyl, hydroisoquinolyl, and indolinyl alcohols were electrochemically oxidized in methanol in the presence of sodium methoxide and potassium iodide. The hydroquinolyl and hydroisoquinolyl alcohols afforded the corresponding intramolecular cyclization products through the bond formation between the Cc-carbon of the nitrogen atom and the oxygen atom of the hydroxy group. In contrast, the indolinyl alcohols underwent dehydrogenation to give the corresponding indolyl alcohols. Presumably, in all cases, the electrooxidation involves a two-electron oxidation process.
Lohray; Bhushan; Sekar Reddy, Indian Journal of Chemistry - Section B Organic and Medicinal Chemistry, 2000, vol. 39, # 4, p. 297 - 299