Autoxidation hydroperoxides

Hydroperoxide is the first product of hydrocarbon oxidation and plays a key role in the chain mechanism of autoxidation. Hydroperoxide possesses a weak O—O bond and decomposes... 

The complex and incompletely understood phenomena of cool flames and then-close relationship with autoignition processes is discussed in considerable detail. As the temperature of mixtures of organic vapours with air is raised, the rate of autoxidation (hydroperoxide formation) will increase, and some substances under some circumstances of heating rate, concentration and pressure will generate cool flames at up to 200° C or more below their normally determined AIT. Cool flames (peroxide decomposition processes) are normally only visible in the dark, are of low temperature and not in themselves hazardous. However, quite small changes in thermal flux, pressure, or composition may cause transition to hot flame conditions, usually after some delay, and normal ignition will then occur if the composition of the mixture is within the flammable limits. 

The complex and incompletely understood phenomena of cool flames and their close relationship with autoignition processes is discussed in considerable detail. As the temperature of mixtures of organic vapours with air is raised, the rate of autoxidation (hydroperoxide formation) will increase, and some substances under some... 

In the early stages of autoxidations, hydroperoxide concentrations are low and chain initiation is inefficient. Under these conditions, Mn(II) and Co(II) can act as inhibitors by scavenging alkylperoxy radicals [reaction (278)]. Competition in the termination step between the usual bimolecular termination of peroxy radicals and their reaction with metal complexes can affect the chain length of the autoxidation. The expression for the chain length in a process involving bimolecular termination of peroxy radicals is... 

The singlet oxygen is 1450 times more reactive than molecular oxygen. It is inserted at the end carbon of a double bond, which is shifted to an allylic position in the trans configuration. The resulting hydroperoxides have an aUyhc trans double bond, which renders them different from hydroperoxides formed during autoxidation. Hydroperoxides formed during photooxidation are more easily cychzed than hydroperoxy epidioxides (Frankel, 1998). 

These reactions represent a further source of initiating free radicals and there is thus an acceleration in the rate of uptake of oxygen. (Oxidation processes which show autoacceleration are often termed autoxidation.) Hydroperoxides are also particularly susceptible to decomposition by ions of such metals as chromium, copper and iron,e.g. ... 

Autoxida.tlon. The autoxidation (7) of unsaturated fatty acids in phosphoHpids is similar to that of free acids. Primary products are diene hydroperoxides formed in a free-radical process. 

Many hydroperoxides have been prepared by autoxidation of suitable substrates with molecular oxygen (45,52,55). These reactions can be free-radical chain or nonchain processes, depending on whether triplet or singlet oxygen is involved. The free-radical process consists of three stages ... 

Hydroperoxides have been obtained from the autoxidation of alkanes, aralkanes, alkenes, ketones, enols, hydrazones, aromatic amines, amides, ethers, acetals, alcohols, and organomineral compounds, eg, Grignard reagents (10,45). In autoxidations involving hydrazones, double-bond migration occurs with the formation of hydroperoxy—azo compounds via free-radical chain processes (10,59) (eq. 20). 

Commercially, autoxidation is used in the production of a-cumyl hydroperoxide, tert-huty hydroperoxide, -diisopropylbenzene monohydroperoxide, -diisopropylbenzene dihydroperoxide, -menthane hydroperoxide, pinane hydroperoxide, and ethylbenzene hydroperoxide. 

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). 

Secondary alcohols, such as isopropyl alcohol, j -butyl alcohol, 2-pentanol, 3-pentanol, cyclopentanol, and cyclohexanol, have been autoxidized to hydroxyaLkyl hydroperoxides (1, X = OH R = H) (10,44). These autoxidations usually are carried out at ca 20°C with uv radiation in the presence of a photosensitizer, eg, benzophenone. a-Oxygen-substituted dialkyl peroxides (2, X = Y = OH and X = Y = OOH), also are formed and sometimes they are the exclusive products (10). 

AlkoxyaLkyl hydroperoxides are more commonly called ether hydroperoxides. They form readily by the autoxidation of most ethers containing a-hydrogens, eg, dioxane, tetrahydrofuran, diethyl ether, diisopropyl ether, di- -butyl ether, and diisoamyl ether (10,44). From certain ethers, eg, diethyl ether (in the following, R = H R = 35 — CH2CH2), the initially formed ether hydroperoxide can yield alcohol on standing, or with acid treatment... 

Low molecular weight ether hydroperoxides are similarly dangerous and therefore ethers should be tested for peroxides and any peroxidic products removed from them before ethers are distilled or evaporated to dryness. Many ethers autoxidize so readily that peroxidic compounds form at dangerous levels when stored in containers that are not airtight (133). Used ether containers should be handled cautiously and if they are found to contain hazardous soHd ether peroxides, bomb-squad assisted disposal may be required (134). ZeoHtes have been used for removal of peroxide impurities from ethers (135). 

The peioxy free radicals can abstract hydrogens from other activated methylene groups between double bonds to form additional hydroperoxides and generate additional free radicals like (1). Thus a chain reaction is estabhshed resulting in autoxidation. The free radicals participate in these reactions, and also react with each other resulting in cross-linking by combination. 

The fimction of an antioxidant is to divert the peroxy radicals and thus prevent a chain process. Other antioxidants fimction by reacting with potential initiators and thus retard oxidative degradation by preventing the initiation of autoxidation chains. The hydroperoxides generated by autoxidation are themselves potential chain initiators, and autoxidations therefore have the potential of being autocatalytic. Certain antioxidants fimction by reducing such hydroperoxides and thereby preventing their accumulation. 

Alkenes slowly undergo a reaction in air called autoxidation in which allylic hydroperoxides are formed. 

Bateman, Gee, Barnard, and others at the British Rubber Producers Research Association [6,7] developed a free radical chain reaction mechanism to explain the autoxidation of rubber which was later extended to other polymers and hydrocarbon compounds of technological importance [8,9]. Scheme 1 gives the main steps of the free radical chain reaction process involved in polymer oxidation and highlights the important role of hydroperoxides in the autoinitiation reaction, reaction lb and Ic. For most polymers, reaction le is rate determining and hence at normal oxygen pressures, the concentration of peroxyl radical (ROO ) is maximum and termination is favoured by reactions of ROO reactions If and Ig. 

The development of the autoxidation theory, in which the propagating radicals, alkyl, and alkylperoxyl (R ROO ), and the hydroperoxide (ROOH) are the key intermediates, has therefore led to a comprehensive theory of antioxidant action Scheme 2 shows the two major... 

The common initiators of this class are f-alkyl derivatives, for example, t-butyl hydroperoxide (59), Aamyl hydroperoxide (60), cumene hydroperoxide (61), and a range of peroxyketals (62). Hydroperoxides formed by hydrocarbon autoxidation have also been used as initiators of polymerization. 

Variable valence transition metal ions, such as Co VCo and Mn /Mn are able to catalyze hydrocarbon autoxidations by increasing the rate of chain initiation. Thus, redox reactions of the metal ions with alkyl hydroperoxides produce chain initiating alkoxy and alkylperoxy radicals (Fig. 6). Interestingly, aromatic percarboxylic acids, which are key intermediates in the oxidation of methylaromatics, were shown by Jones (ref. 10) to oxidize Mn and Co, to the corresponding p-oxodimer of Mn or Co , via a heterolytic mechanism (Fig. 6). 

Chan, H.W.S. and Levett, G. (1977). Autoxidation of methyl linoleate. Separation and analysis of isomeric mixtures of methyl linoleate hydroperoxides and methyl hydrox-ylinoleates. Lipids 12, 99. 

As a reasonable biogenetie pathway for the enzymatic conversion of the polyunsaturated fatty acid 3 into the bicyclic peroxide 4, the free radical mechanism in Equation 3 was postulated 9). That such a free radical process is a viable mechanism has been indicated by model studies in which prostaglandin-like products were obtained from the autoxidation of methyl linolenate 10> and from the treatment of unsaturated lipid hydroperoxides with free radical initiators U). 

We developed a convenient synthesis of 3-cyclopentenyl hydroperoxide via hydro-boration and autoxidation of cyclopentadiene, and bromination proceeded smoothly to afford 32 40). Ring closure with silver trifluoroacetate (Eq. 26) afforded a 5-bromo-2,3-dioxabicyclo[2.2.1]heptane 34 (6%) and a 5-trifluoroacetoxy-2,3-dioxabicyclo-[2.2.1]heptane 35 (14%), and it was shown independently that 34 is rapidly converted into 35 by reaction with Ag02CCF3. To avoid the trifluoroacetate bromide substitution that accompanies and competes with the dioxabicyclization, 32 was treated with silver oxide and this slowly yielded an isomeric 5-bromo-peroxide 33 (42 %) (Eq. 26). 

Autoxidation may in some cases be of preparative use thus reference has already been made to the large-scale production of phenol+ acetone by the acid-catalysed rearrangement of the hydroperoxide from 2-phenylpropane (cumene, p. 128). Another example involves the hydroperoxide (94) obtained by the air oxidation at 70° of tetrahydro-naphthalene (tetralin) the action of base then yields the ketone (a-tetralone, 95), and reductive fission of the 0—0 linkage the alcohol (a-tetralol, 96) ... 

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