Autooxidation radical pathway

Clearly, molecular oxygen is the most desirable oxidant for epoxidation because of its ready availability and low cost. However, O2 cannot readily be used in practice because of the occurrence of autooxidation radical pathways, which are unselective. Good selectivity can be obtained by co-autooxidation with aldehydes [290-292], but the process produces acid coproducts. Adolfsson gives a list of common oxidants, their active oxygen contents and waste products [293]. 

Improving giycaemic control may not only reduce the rate of non-enzymatic glycosyiation and monosaccharide autooxidation, but lower polyol pathway activity. In addition, it should have a beneficial effect on other haemodynamic and hormonal factors involved in the development of diabetic vascular disease. However, in studies of diabetic retinopathy, rapid control of glucose levels by intensive insulin therapy has been shown to worsen vascular disease initially and it could be postulated that a sudden improvement in retinal blood flow promotes further free-radical damage as part of a reperfusion-ischaemic injury. 

Radical hydroxylation of hydrocarbons by autooxidation yields alcohols (major products), ketones, and acids (minor products). Cyclohexanol, for example, is formed in 90% yield from cyclohexane and peroxyacetic acid (275). The high -ol/-one ratio at low conversions can sometimes be used as a partial diagnostic tool to distinguish between the radical and electrophilic pathways. The predominant reaction of electrophilic radicals, such as HO, ROO, and CH 3 is H-atom abstraction from reactants (S-H) or peracids, as exemplified by the following ... 

Photolysis Abiotic oxidation occurring in surface water is often light mediated. Both direct oxidative photolysis and indirect light-induced oxidation via a photolytic mechanism may introduce reactive species able to enhance the redox process in the system. These species include singlet molecular O, hydroxyl-free radicals, super oxide radical anions, and hydrogen peroxide. In addition to the photolytic pathway, induced oxidation may include direct oxidation by ozone (Spencer et al. 1980) autooxidation enhanced by metals (Stone and Morgan 1987) and peroxides (Mill et al. 1980). 

The role of Coball-dioxygen complexes in autooxidations other than phenol oxidation is less certain, and ostensibly similar reactions appear to follow radically different pathways. Thus, in the oxidation of thiols to disulfide catalyzed by Co11 species catalysis by the phthalocyanine complex [Con(TSPc)]4 apparently proceeds via a Co1 intermediate and without participation of Co—02 species,680 whereas catalysis by [CoH(TPP)] appears to involve initial formation of an >/ cobalt-dioxygen complex from which Of is displaced by thiolate.681 Several reviews giving extensive coverage to oxidations catalyzed by cobalt(II) complexes are available.649,650,682 683... 

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