Alkyl hydroperoxides formation

It can be assumed that in one of the possible channels of the alkyl hydroperoxide formation, electron transfer Cl — Fe and reorganization of bonds occurs within a six-membered structure IX-7 or K-8 (Scheme IX.9). 

Reaction conditions depend on the reactants and usually involve acid or base catalysis. Examples of X include sulfate, acid sulfate, alkane- or arenesulfonate, chloride, bromide, hydroxyl, alkoxide, perchlorate, etc. RX can also be an alkyl orthoformate or alkyl carboxylate. The reaction of cycHc alkylating agents, eg, epoxides and a2iridines, with sodium or potassium salts of alkyl hydroperoxides also promotes formation of dialkyl peroxides (44,66). Olefinic alkylating agents include acycHc and cycHc olefinic hydrocarbons, vinyl and isopropenyl ethers, enamines, A[-vinylamides, vinyl sulfonates, divinyl sulfone, and a, P-unsaturated compounds, eg, methyl acrylate, mesityl oxide, acrylamide, and acrylonitrile (44,66). 

Autoxidation of alkanes generally promotes the formation of alkyl hydroperoxides, but d4-tert-huty peroxide has been obtained in >30% yield by the bromine-catalyzed oxidation of isobutane (66). In the presence of iodine, styrene also has been oxidized to the corresponding peroxide (44). 

There are several available terminal oxidants for the transition metal-catalyzed epoxidation of olefins (Table 6.1). Typical oxidants compatible with most metal-based epoxidation systems are various alkyl hydroperoxides, hypochlorite, or iodo-sylbenzene. A problem associated with these oxidants is their low active oxygen content (Table 6.1), while there are further drawbacks with these oxidants from the point of view of the nature of the waste produced. Thus, from an environmental and economical perspective, molecular oxygen should be the preferred oxidant, because of its high active oxygen content and since no waste (or only water) is formed as a byproduct. One of the major limitations of the use of molecular oxygen as terminal oxidant for the formation of epoxides, however, is the poor product selectivity obtained in these processes [6]. Aerobic oxidations are often difficult to control and can sometimes result in combustion or in substrate overoxidation. In... 

Support for this conclusion is provided by the hydroperoxide specificity of BP oxidation. The scheme presented in Figure 6 requires that the same oxidizing agent is generated by reaction of h2°2/ peroxy acids, or alkyl hydroperoxides with the peroxidase. Oxidation of any compound by the iron-oxo intermediates should be supported by any hydroperoxide that is reduced by the peroxidase. This is clearly not the case for oxidation of BP by ram seminal vesicle microsomes as the data in Figure 7 illustrate. Quinone formation is supported by fatty acid hydroperoxides but very poorly or not at all by simple alkyl hydroperoxides or H2C>2. The fact that... 

The formed hydroxyperoxide decomposes into free radicals much more rapidly than alkyl hydroperoxide [128]. So, the equilibrium addition of the hydroperoxide to the ketone changes the rate of formation of the radicals. This effect was first observed for cyclohexanone and 1,1-dimethylethyl hydroperoxide [128]. In this system, the rate of radical formation increases with an increase in the ketone concentration. The mechanism of radical formation is described by the following scheme ... 

The second largest number of hydrogen bonds in crystal structures of alkyl hydroperoxides refers to interactions of the type OO—H OR R, where R is an alkyl group and R denotes H, alkyl or R O. The OO OR R distances vary between 2.67-2.91 A and the associated O—H O angles range from 152 to 177°. In some compounds, formation of intramolecular hydrogen bonds of the type OO—H 0=X would in principle have been feasible. The number of examples documented in the literature so far is clearly in favor of the intermolecular type of H bonding. 

The enthalpy of formation data appear in Table 1. Where there are numerous data for structurally related compounds, plotting the enthalpy of formation versus the number of carbons can reveal at a glance the quality of the data. For the alkyl hydroperoxides especially, the data are seen to be of mixed quality as evidenced by the lack of linearity in the plot (Figure 1). The error bars for the ethyl and n-propyl hydroperoxides are so large as to render the data meaningless. Also, the enthalpy of formation of n-propyl hydroperoxide is more negative than that of 1-hexyl hydroperoxide, another indication of its gross inaccuracy. The C2 and C3 hydroperoxide data will not be considered any further. 

There is reported enthalpy of formation data for methyl hydroperoxide. The enthalpy of formation of the methyl derivative for any functional group, MeZ, is expected to deviate somewhat from the linear relationship established by the n-alkyl members of the homologous series with the same Z. It is unclear where the best straight line lies for the n-alkyl hydroperoxides and so the extent of deviation for methyl hydroperoxide is likewise unclear. However, methyl hydroperoxide, like other methyl derivatives with electron-withdrawing functional groups, should exhibit an enthalpy of formation that is more positive than other members of the series. 

FIGURE 1. Enthalpies of formation of alkyl hydroperoxides and dialkyl peroxides Vi. number of carbon atoms (Iq, kJ mol )... 

Disproportionation reaction 7 might be expected to be thermoneutral in the gas phase and perhaps less so in the liquid phase where there is the possibility of hydrogen-bonding. Only for gas phase dimethyl peroxide is the prediction true, where the reaction enthalpy is —0.2 kJmoD. The liquid phase enthalpy of reaction is the incredible —61.5 kJmoD. Of course, we have expressed some doubt about the accuracy of the enthalpy of formation of methyl hydroperoxide. For teri-butyl cumyl peroxide, the prediction for thermoneutrality is in error by about 6 kJmor in the gas phase and by ca 9 kJmoD for the liquid. The enthalpy of reaction deviation from prediction increases slightly for tert-butyl peroxide — 14kJmol for the gas phase, which is virtually the same result as in the liquid phase, — 19kJmol . The reaction enthalpy is calculated to be far from neutrality for 2-fert-butylperoxy-2-methylhex-5-en-3-yne. The enthalpies of reaction are —86.1 kJmoD (g) and —91.5 kJmol (Iq). This same species showed discrepant behavior for reaction 6. Nevertheless, still assuming thermoneutrality for conversion of diethyl peroxide to ethyl hydroperoxide in reaction 7, the derived enthalpies of formation for ethyl hydroperoxide are —206 kJmoD (Iq) and —164 kJmoD (g). The liquid phase estimated value for ethyl hydroperoxide is much more reasonable than the experimentally determined value and is consistent with the other n-alkyl hydroperoxide values, either derived or accurately determined experimentally. 

As was the case for the alkyl hydroperoxides in reaction 4, the enthalpies of the oxy-gen/hydrocarbon double exchange reaction 8 for dialkyl peroxides are different depending on the classification of the carbon bonded to oxygen. For R = Me, Et and f-Bu, the liquid phase values are —4, 24.6 and 52.7 kJmoR, respectively, and the gas phase values are 0.1, 25.7 and 56.5 kJmoR, respectively. For the formal deoxygenation reaction 9, the enthalpies of reaction are virtually the same for dimethyl and diethyl peroxide in the gas phase, —58.5 0.6 kJ moR. This value is the same as the enthalpy of reaction of diethyl peroxide in the liquid phase, —56.0 kJ moR (there is no directly determined liquid phase enthalpy of formation of dimethyl ether). Because of steric strain in the di-ferf-butyl ether, the enthalpy of reaction is much less negative, but still exothermic, —17.7 kJmol (Iq) and —19.6 kJmol (g). 

SCHEME 33. Perketal formation by reaction of alkyl hydroperoxides with vinyl ethers... 

L Ti, Zr, Hf. Characteristic for group IV transition metal catalysts for epoxidation reactions is the intermediate formation of a mono- or bidentate coordinated alkyl hydroperoxide, hydrogen peroxide or a bidentate coordinated peroxo group in the catalytically active species. 

The direct epoxidation of simple aikenes by hydrogen peroxide or alkyl hydroperoxides is a longstanding goal in oxidation chemistry. The reaction is usually catalyzed by suitable high-valent metals, mainly belonging to group 5 and 6, through formation of metal peroxo species. ... 

Alkyl halides, hydroperoxide synthesis, 327-8 Alkyl hydroperoxides anion ligands, 114-19 covalent radii, 114, 118-19 dihedral angles, 119 geometric parameters, 115-8 tetrahedral distortion, 119 artemisinin formation, 133-4 chlorotriorganosilane reactions, 779-83 crystal structure, 105-14 anomeric effect, 110-11 geometric parameters, 106-9 hydrogen bonding, 103-5, 111-14 tetrahedral distortion, 110 determination, 674... 

In oxidation studies it has usually been assumed that thermal decomposition of alkyl hydroperoxides leads to the formation of alcohols. However, carbonyl-forming eliminations of hydroperoxides, usually under the influence of base, are well known. Of more interest, nucleophlic rearrangements, generally acid-catalyzed, have been shown to produce a mixture of carbonyl and alcohol products by fission of the molecule (6). For l-butene-3-hydroperoxide it might have been expected that a rearrangement (Reaction 1) similar to that which occurs with cumene hydroperoxide could produce two molecules of acetaldehyde. 

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