Butylhydroperoxide

The second important process for propylene oxide is epoxidation with peroxides. Many hydroperoxides have been used as oxygen carriers for this reaction. Examples are t-butylhydroperoxide, ethylbenzene hydroperoxide, and peracetic acid. An important advantage of the process is that the coproducts from epoxidation have appreciable economic values. 

A closely related asymmetric synthesis of chiral sulphoxides, which involves a direct oxidation of the parent sulphides by t-butylhydroperoxide in the presence of metal catalyst and diethyl tartrate, was also reported by Modena and Di Furia and their coworkers-28-7,288 jjje effect 0f the reaction parameters such as metal catalyst, chiral tartrate and solvent on the optical yield does not follow a simple pattern. Generally, the highest optical purities (up to 88%) were observed when reactions were carried out using Ti(OPr-i)4 as a metal catalyst in 1,2-dichloroethane. 

In contrast to the asymmetric procedures discussed above, the metal-catalyzed oxidation of alkyl aryl sulphides by t-butylhydroperoxide carried out in a chiral alcohol gives rise to chiral sulphoxides of low optical purity290 (e.e. 0.6 9.8%). Similarly, a very low asymmetric induction was noted when prochiral sulphides were oxidized by sodium metaperiodate in chiral alcohols as solvents291. 

Allylic alcohols can be converted to epoxy-alcohols with tert-butylhydroperoxide on molecular sieves, or with peroxy acids. Epoxidation of allylic alcohols can also be done with high enantioselectivity. In the Sharpless asymmetric epoxidation,allylic alcohols are converted to optically active epoxides in better than 90% ee, by treatment with r-BuOOH, titanium tetraisopropoxide and optically active diethyl tartrate. The Ti(OCHMe2)4 and diethyl tartrate can be present in catalytic amounts (15-lOmol %) if molecular sieves are present. Polymer-supported catalysts have also been reported. Since both (-t-) and ( —) diethyl tartrate are readily available, and the reaction is stereospecific, either enantiomer of the product can be prepared. The method has been successful for a wide range of primary allylic alcohols, where the double bond is mono-, di-, tri-, and tetrasubstituted. This procedure, in which an optically active catalyst is used to induce asymmetry, has proved to be one of the most important methods of asymmetric synthesis, and has been used to prepare a large number of optically active natural products and other compounds. The mechanism of the Sharpless epoxidation is believed to involve attack on the substrate by a compound formed from the titanium alkoxide and the diethyl tartrate to produce a complex that also contains the substrate and the r-BuOOH. ... 

Jewell, S.A., DiMonte, D., Richelmi, P., Bellomo, G. and Orrenius, S. (1986). tert-Butylhydroperoxide-induced toxicity in isolated hepatocytes contribution of thiol oxidation and lipid peroxidation. J. Biochem. Toxicol. 1, 13-22. 

A procedure for the preparation of allylic alcohols uses the equivalent of phenylselenenic acid and an alkene. The reaction product is then treated with r-butylhydroperoxide. Suggest a mechanistic rationale for this process. 

The mechanism by which the enantioselective oxidation occurs is generally similar to that for the vanadium-catalyzed oxidations. The allylic alcohol serves to coordinate the substrate to titanium. The tartrate esters are also coordinated at titanium, creating a chiral environment. The active catalyst is believed to be a dimeric species, and the mechanism involves rapid exchange of the allylic alcohol and /-butylhydroperoxide at the titanium ion. 

Fig. 12.4. Successive models of the transition state for Sharpless epoxidation. (a) the hexacoordinate Ti core with uncoordinated alkene (b) Ti with methylhydroperoxide, allyl alcohol, and ethanediol as ligands (c) monomeric catalytic center incorporating t-butylhydroperoxide as oxidant (d) monomeric catalytic center with formyl groups added (e) dimeric transition state with chiral tartrate model (E = CH = O). Reproduced from J. Am. Chem. Soc., 117, 11327 (1995), by permission of the American Chemical Society. 

Tertiary butylhydroperoxide (TBHP) is a popular oxidizing agent used with certain catalysts. Because of its size, TBHP is most effective with catalysts containing large pores however, it can also be used with small-pore catalysts. Using first-row transition metals, Cr and V, impregnated into pillared clays, TBHP converts alcohols to ketones, epoxidizes alkenes, and oxidizes allylic and benzylic positions to ketones.83-87... 

Figure 9. Influence of the teit-butylhydroperoxide addition on the IS V-absorption of the N—O band ( NO , I) solvent n-heptane...

Figure 10. Part of the 1H-NMR spectrum of (a) tcrt-butylhydroperoxide in tolu-ene-dn (0.2 mol/L) and (b) tert-butylhydroperoxide (0.2 mol/L) with added TMP (0.002 mol/L) solvent toluene-ds...

See fert-Butylhydroperoxide Toluene, Dinitrogen pentaoxide See other PEROXYESTERS... 

The use of heterogeneous catalysts in the liquid phase offers several advantages compared with homogeneous counterparts, in that it facilitates ease of recovery and recycling. A chromium-containing medium-pore molecular sieve (Si Cr > 140 1), CrS-2, efficiently catalyzes the direct oxidation of various primary amines to the corresponding nitro compounds using 70% t-butylhydroperoxide (TBHP).110... 

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