Chain propagation, oxidation

Chemistry. Free-radical nitrations consist of rather compHcated nitration and oxidation reactions (31). When nitric acid is used in vapor-phase nitrations, the reaction of equation 5 is the main initiating step where NO2 is a free radical, either -N02 or -ON02. Temperatures of >ca 350° are required to obtain a significant amount of initiation, and equation 5 is the rate-controlling step for the overall reaction. Reactions 6 and 7 are chain-propagating steps. 

Eor antioxidant activity, the reaction of aminyl radicals with peroxy radicals is very beneficial. The nitroxyl radicals formed in this reaction are extremely effective oxidation inhibitors. Nitroxides function by trapping chain-propagating alkyl radicals to give hydroxylamine ethers. These ethers, in turn, quench chain propagating peroxy radicals and in the process regenerate the original nitroxides. The cycHc nature of this process accounts for the superlative antioxidant activity of nitroxides (see Antioxidants). Thus, antioxidant activity improves with an increase in stabiUty of the aminyl and nitroxyl radicals. Consequendy, commercial DPA antioxidants are alkylated in the ortho and para positions to prevent undesirable coupling reactions. 

Particularly valuable for the viable nature of oxidations is the flame-arrestor ef feet of micro reactors affecting radical-chain propagation. 

The photo-oxidation of a solid branched alkane can be expected to proceed in localized domains, new oxidation chains being generated from the photo-cleavage of -00H products, and chain propagation (reactions 2 and 3) being concentrated close to each initial site in a given domain to produce a zone of high -00H concentration. Thus the distribution of an additive in and around these domains is of special importance. 

It can be seen that the decomposing peroxide gives rise to a number of radicals, viz, (CH3)3C0 , C H3, and R, but the chain reaction fails to be initiated in this system. At the same time, the addition of oxygen to the peroxide-RH system will initiate chain oxidation with chain propagation through the cycle of reactions ... 

Peroxyl radicals can undergo various reactions, e.g., hydrogen abstraction, isomerization, decay, and addition to a double bond. Chain propagation in oxidized aliphatic, alkyl-aromatic, alicyclic hydrocarbons, and olefins with weak C—H bonds near the double bond proceeds according to the following reaction as a limiting step of the chain process [2 15] ... 

The peroxyl radical of a hydrocarbon can attack the C—H bond of another hydrocarbon. In addition to this bimolecular abstraction, the reaction of intramolecular hydrogen atom abstraction is known when peroxyl radical attacks its own C—H bond to form as final product dihydroperoxide. This effect of intramolecular chain propagation was first observed by Rust in the 2,4-dimethylpentane oxidation experiments [130] ... 

Chain propagation in oxidized 1,2-substituted ethylenes proceeds via addition of dioxygen followed by the elimination of the hydroperoxyl radical [156] ... 

The traditional chain oxidation with chain propagation via the reaction RO/ + RH occurs at a sufficiently elevated temperature when chain propagation is more rapid than chain termination (see earlier discussion). The main molecular product of this reaction is hydroperoxide. When tertiary peroxyl radicals react more rapidly in the reaction R02 + R02 with formation of alkoxyl radicals than in the reaction R02 + RH, the mechanism of oxidation changes. Alkoxyl radicals are very reactive. They react with parent hydrocarbon and alcohols formed as primary products of hydrocarbon chain oxidation. As we see, alkoxyl radicals decompose with production of carbonyl compounds. The activation energy of their decomposition is higher than the reaction with hydrocarbons (see earlier discussion). As a result, heating of the system leads to conditions when the alkoxyl radical decomposition occurs more rapidly than the abstraction of the hydrogen atom from the hydrocarbon. The new chain mechanism of the hydrocarbon oxidation occurs under such conditions, with chain... 

The chain mechanism is complicated when two hydrocarbons are oxidized simultaneously. Russell and Williamson [1,2] performed the first experiments on the co-oxidation of hydrocarbons with ethers. The theory of these reactions is close to that for the reaction of free radical copolymerization [3] and was developed by several researchers [4-9], When one hydrocarbon R H is oxidized in the liquid phase at a sufficiently high dioxygen pressure chain propagation is limited only by one reaction, namely, R OO + R H. For the co-oxidation of two hydrocarbons R1 and R2H, four propagation reactions are important, viz,... 

In the initial period the oxidation of hydrocarbon RH proceeds as a chain reaction with one limiting step of chain propagation, namely reaction R02 + RH. The rate of the reaction is determined only by the activity and the concentration of peroxyl radicals. As soon as the oxidation products (hydroperoxide, alcohol, ketone, etc.) accumulate, the peroxyl radicals react with these products. As a result, the peroxyl radicals formed from RH (R02 ) are replaced by other free radicals. Thus, the oxidation of hydrocarbon in the presence of produced and oxidized intermediates is performed in co-oxidation with complex composition of free radicals propagating the chain [4], A few examples are given below. 

The kinetic analysis proves that formation of very active radical from intermediate product can increase the reaction rate not more than twice. However, the formation of inactive radical can principally stop the chain reaction [77], Besides the rate, the change of composition of chain propagating radicals can influence the rate of formation and decay of intermediates in the oxidized hydrocarbon. In its turn, the concentrations of intermediates (alcohols, ketones, aldehydes, etc.) influence autoinitiation and the rate of autoxidation of the hydrocarbon (see Chapter 4). 

The introduction of hydroxylamine into oxidizing hydrocarbon adds the new cycle of chain propagation reactions to the traditional R —> R02 —> R cycle. This scheme is similar to that of hydrocarbon oxidation with the addition of another hydroperoxide (see earlier). 

The reaction of hydrogen atom abstraction by the alkylhydroxyperoxyl radical from alcohol limits chain propagation in oxidized alcohol [8,9]. 

The analysis of alcohol reactivities in reactions with the peroxyl radicals will be discussed later. The values of the rate constants of chain propagation in oxidized alcohols are collected in Table 7.4. 

As a result, two different peroxyl radicals take part in chain propagation in oxidized alcohol, namely, alkylhydroxyperoxyl and hydroperoxyl radicals. 

A different situation in the oxidation of these two alcohols is seen. The hydroperoxyl radical is the main chain propagating species in oxidized 2-propanol the portion of alkylhydroxy-peroxyl radicals in this reaction is less than 2.5%. In oxidized cyclohexanol, on the contrary, the stationary state concentrations of both radicals are close and both of them take important part in chain propagation. 

In addition to two peroxyl radicals, H02 and R1R2C(0H)00 , participating in chain propagation in the oxidized alcohols, there are three reactions that are guilty of chain termination in the oxidized alcohols. The most probable reaction between them is disproportionation. 

Chain propagation in oxidized alcohols proceeds with the participation of a mixture of H02 and R(0H)02 radicals. Using the data of Table 7.4 and Table 7.7 we can compare the activity of the H027H0R02 mixture and alkylperoxyl radicals toward the same alcohol (R OO is the peroxyl radical of cyclohexene, T = 333 K). 

A molecule of linear alkyl ether possesses a very convenient geometry for intramolecular hydrogen atom abstraction by the peroxyl radical. Therefore, chain propagation is performed by two ways in oxidized ethers intermolecular and intramolecular. As a result, two peroxides as primary intermediates are formed from ether due to oxidation, namely, hydroperoxide and dihydroperoxide [62],... 

Rate Constants of Chain Propagation and Termination in Oxidized Ethers... 

Chain propagation in an oxidized aldehyde is limited by the reaction of the acylperoxyl radical with the aldehyde. The dissociation energy of the O—H bond of the formed peracid is sufficiently higher than that of the alkyl hydroperoxide. For example, in hydroperoxide PhMeCHOOH, Z)0 H = 365.5 kJ mol-1 and in benzoic peracid... 

The polar carbonyl group interacts with the polar transition state of the reaction between the peroxyl radical and the C—H bond of the aldehyde. This interaction lowers the activation energy of this reaction (see Section 8.1.4). As a result, all the three factors, viz., the strong RC(0)00—H bond formed, the weak C—H bond of the oxidized aldehyde, and the polar interaction in the transition state, contribute to lowering the activation energy of the reaction RC(0)00 + RCH(O) and increasing the rate constant of the chain propagation reaction (see Section 8.1.4). 

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