Carbon-carbon bond cleavage of 1,2-diphenyl-ethanes in CH3OH-H2SO4-H2O electrolyte on a boron-doped diamond (BDD) electrode has been investigated electrode using 1,2-di-(p-tert-butylphenyl)-ethane and 1,2-dimethoxy-1,2-di-(p-tert-butylphenyl)-ethane as model compds. A reaction mechanism involving methoxyl radicals formed by discharge of methanol on BDD has been proposed in order to explain the behavior of BDD for the C-C cleavage of 1,2-diphenyl-ethane derivs. [on SciFinder (R)]