Aromatic rings oxidation with molecular oxygen

The three-dimensional structures, or part of it, are also known for Desulfovibrio vulgaris and Anacystis nidulans flavodoxins. These results, including those obtained on C.MP., were recently summarized by Adman . Hence, these results will be discussed only briefly. The x-ray structures show that the isoalloxazine ring is embedded in a hydrophobic pocket of the apoprotein, i.e. flanked by at least one aromatic amino acid residue. During the redox transitions, especially from the oxidized to the semiquinone state, small conformational changes occur and contacts with the isoalloxazine ring are formed or broken. These conformational transitions form probably a kinetic barrier so that the semiquinone state is trapped by the apoprotein and, therefore, rather stable towards oxidation by molecular oxygen. 

Gasoline hydrocarbons volatilized to the atmosphere quickly undergo photochemical oxidation. The hydrocarbons are oxidized by reaction with molecular oxygen (which attacks the ring structure of aromatics), ozone (which reacts rapidly with alkenes but slowly with aromatics), and hydroxyl and nitrate radicals (which initiate side-chain oxidation reactions) (Stephens 1973). Alkanes, isoalkanes, and cycloalkanes have half-lives on the order of 1-10 days, whereas alkenes, cycloalkenes, and substituted benzenes have half- lives of less than 1 day (EPA 1979a). Photochemical oxidation products include aldehydes, hydroxy compounds, nitro compounds, and peroxyacyl nitrates (Cupitt 1980 EPA 1979a Stephens 1973). 

Huang, Liang et al. developed a direct Cul-catalyzed synthesis of polysubsti-tuted pyrroles from dialkyl ethylenedicarboxylates and -enamino ketones or esters in moderate to good yields with molecular oxygen (1 atm) (Scheme 8.5). Variation of N-substituents, aromatic ring, alkyl, and ester could be obtained smoothly. In this procedure, molecular oxygen was used as the oxidant and the C(sp )-H bond of the -enamino ketones was cleaved [15]. 

Exclusive ring-nitration occurs with alkylbenzenes. The nitration of toluene in the presence of H-ZSM-5 and molecular oxygen shows a remarkable enhancement of para selectivity (ortho para ratio = 0.08).268 A review is available for the nitration of aromatics by nitrogen oxides on zeolite catalysts.269... 

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