Cyclic chain termination

Cyclic Chain Termination in Oxidation of Organic Compounds... 

Cyclic Chain Termination by Aromatic Amines and Aminyl Radicals... 

Transition Metal Ions as Catalysts for Cyclic Chain Termination References... 

The a-aminoalkylperoxyl radicals RCH(00 )NHR possess a dual reactivity oxidative (due to the peroxyl group) and reducing (due to the amino group) [5]. As a result, many antioxidants terminate the chains of oxidized amines by the mechanisms of cyclic chain termination (see Chapter 16). 

Cyclic chain termination by antioxidants. Oxidation of some substances, such as alcohols or aliphatic amines, gives rise to peroxyl radicals of multiple (oxidative and reductive) activity (see Chapters 7 and 9). In the systems containing such substances, antioxidants are regenerated in the reactions of chain termination. In other words, chain termination occurs as a catalytic cyclic process. The number of chain termination events depends on the proportion between the rates of inhibitor consumption and regeneration reactions. Multiple chain termination may take place, for instance, in polymers. Inhibitors of multiple chain termination are aromatic amines, nitroxyl radicals, and variable-valence metal compounds. 

CYCLIC CHAIN TERMINATION BY AROMATIC AMINES AND AMINYL RADICALS... 

On the basis of these results, the following general mechanism was suggested for the cyclic chain termination by inhibitor InH in oxidized alcohol [3] ... 

The oxidation of primary and secondary alcohols in the presence of 1-naphthylamine, 2-naphthylamine, or phenyl-1-naphthylamine is characterized by the high values of the inhibition coefficient / > 10 [1-7], Alkylperoxyl, a-ketoperoxyl radicals, and (3-hydroxyperoxyl radicals, like the peroxyl radicals derived from tertiary alcohols, appeared to be incapable of reducing the aminyl radicals formed from aromatic amines. For example, when the oxidation of tert-butanol is inhibited by 1-naphthylamine, the coefficient /is equal to 2, which coincides with the value found in the inhibited oxidation of alkanes [3], However, the addition of hydrogen peroxide to the tert-butanol getting oxidized helps to perform the cyclic chain termination mechanism (1-naphthylamine as the inhibitor, T = 393 K, cumyl peroxide as initiator, p02 = 98 kPa [8]). This is due to the participation of the formed hydroperoxyl radical in the chain termination ... 

Organic acids retard the formation of nitroxyl radicals via the reaction of the peroxyl radical with the aminyl radical [10], Apparently, the formation of a hydrogen bond of the >N H0C(0)R type leads to the shielding of nitrogen, which precludes the addition of dioxygen to it, yielding the nitroxyl radical. Thus, the products of the oxidation of alcohols, namely, acids have an influence on the mechanism of the cyclic chain termination. 

As noted above, the duration of the retarding action of an inhibitor is directly proportional to the / value. In systems with a cyclic chain termination mechanism, the / coefficient depends on the ratio of the rate constants for two reactions, in which the inhibitor is regenerated and irreversibly consumed. In the oxidation of alcohols, aminyl radicals are consumed irreversibly via the reaction with nitroxyl radical formation (see earlier) and via the following reaction [11] ... 

Table 16.1 presents the inhibition coefficients / and the termination rate constants kn in systems with the cyclic chain termination mechanism with aromatic amines. Naturally, these are apparent rate constants, which characterize primarily the rate-limiting step of the chain termination process. 

The question why the aminyl radicals ensure cyclic chain termination in those systems in which the hydroperoxyl and hydroxyalkylperoxyl radicals are formed, but not in the oxidation of hydrocarbons where alkylperoxyl radicals are the chain-propagating species deserves special attention [22 24]. Indeed, the disproportionation of the aminyl and peroxyl radicals... 

Cyclic chain termination with aromatic amines also occurs in the oxidation of tertiary aliphatic amines (see Table 16.1). To explain this fact, a mechanism of the conversion of the aminyl radical into AmH involving the (3-C—H bonds was suggested [30]. However, its realization is hampered because this reaction due to high triplet repulsion should have high activation energy and low rate constant. Since tertiary amines have low ionization potentials and readily participate in electron transfer reactions, the cyclic mechanism in systems of this type is realized apparently as a sequence of such reactions, similar to that occurring in the systems containing transition metal complexes (see below). 

At the same time, quinones do not practically retard oxidation of hydrocarbons, since alkyl radicals react very rapidly with dioxygen (see Chapter 4) to give alkylperoxyl radicals, which scarcely react with quinones. Quinones exhibit their inhibiting properties as alkyl radical acceptors only in the oxidation of polymers (see Chapter 19). However, quinones were found to decelerate the oxidation of alcohols very efficiently and for long periods by ensuring cyclic chain termination via the following reactions [31-34] ... 

The cross-disproportionation of nitroxyl and hydroperoxyl radicals is an exothermic reaction. For example, the enthalpies of disproportionation of TEMPO radical with H02, Me2C(0H)02, and cydo-C(,Y 10(OH)O2 radicals are equal to 109, —92, and 82 kJ mol-1, respectively. The Ee0 value for the abstraction of an H atom from the O—H bond in ROOH by a nitroxyl radical is 45.6 kJ mol 1 and AHe min = —58 kJ mol-1. Since AHe < AHe min, (see Chapter 6), the activation energy of such exothermic reactions for these reactions is low (E 0.5RT), and the rate constant correspondingly is high [31 34]. Therefore, in the systems in which hydroperoxyl, hydroxyperoxyl, and aminoperoxyl radicals participate in chain propagation, the cyclic chain termination mechanism should be realized. 

The reaction of AmO with H02 occurs with AH < A//c min and, subsequently, with a low activation energy (E=0.5RT) and a high rate constant. The latter is higher than 2kt for peroxyl radicals (see Chapter 6), which is important for cyclic chain termination. The inverse situation takes place in reactions of nitroxyl radical disproportionation with alkylperoxyl radicals. For these reactions we observe inequality AH > A//c min and, subsequently, relatively a high activation energy (E> 0.5RT) and a low rate constant. The latter are lower than 2kt for... 

Why are the activation energies of the reactions of nitroxyl radicals with O—H bonds lower than those in their reactions with C—H bonds As in the case of the reaction of R02 with quinones, the difference in E values occurs as a result of the different triplet repulsions in TS [23]. When a TS of the O H O type is formed (the AmO + H02 reaction), the triplet repulsion is close to zero because the O—O bond in the labile compound AmOOH is very weak. Conversely, the triplet repulsion in the reaction of AmO with the C—H bond is fairly great, due to the high dissociation energy of the AmO—R bond. This accounts for the difference between the activation energies and between the rate constants for the reactions considered above. Thus, the possibility of the realization of a cyclic chain termination mechanism in the reactions of nitroxyl radicals with peroxyl radicals, incorporating O—H groups, is caused by the weak triplet repulsion in the TS of such disproportionation reactions... 

Thus, nitroxyl radicals can participate in various cyclic mechanisms of chain termination. Additional information about cyclic chain termination is described in Chapter 19. 

If the hydrogen peroxide concentration is large, the exchange reaction between R02 and H202 occurs rapidly, and this reaction becomes the rate-limiting stage of cyclic chain termination. 

Recently an analogous mechanism for cyclic chain termination has been established for quinones [47], Quinones, which can act as acceptors of alkyl radicals, do not practically retard the oxidation of hydrocarbons at concentrations of up to 5 x 10 3 mol L 1, because the alkyl radicals react very rapidly with dioxygen. However, the ternary system, /V-phenylquinonc imine (Q) + H202 + acid (HA), efficiently retards the initiated oxidation of methyl oleate and ethylbenzene [47]. This is indicated by the following results obtained for the oxidation of ethylbenzene (343 K, p02 = 98 kPa, Vi = 5.21 x 10-7 mol L 1 s 1). 

TRANSITION METAL IONS AS CATALYSTS FOR CYCLIC CHAIN TERMINATION... 

The superoxide ion is a very weak hydrogen atom abstractor, which cannot continue the chain, and is destroyed via disproportionation with any peroxyl radical. So, the studies of the mechanisms of cyclic chain termination in oxidation processes demonstrate that they, on the one hand, are extremely diverse and, on the other, that they are highly structurally selective. The 20 currently known mechanisms are presented in Table 16.6. 

The reaction of the peroxyl radical with the product AmOP should occur rapidly to perform cyclic chain termination. Let us estimate the enthalpy of this reaction. In the reaction R02 + R0N< two bonds, namely, C—H and C—ON, are broken, and two bonds are formed, namely, ROO—H and C=C. The values of these bonds are given below [66]. 

This calculation shows that the discussed reaction is very exothermic. The activation energy of this reaction calculated by the IPM method (see Chapter 6) is equal to 8.7 kJ mol 1 and rate constant is k = 7.3 x 106 L mol-1 s-1 at T= 400 K. This rate constant is close to that of the acceptance of the alkyl macroradical by the nitroxyl radical. Hence, this reaction is rapid enough to be the efficient step in cyclic chain termination in polymer. 

In addition to this reaction, quinones and other alkyl radical acceptors retard polymer oxidation by the reaction with alkyl radicals (see earlier). As a result, effectiveness of these inhibitors increases with the formation of hydroperoxide groups in PP. In addition, the inhibiting capacity of these antioxidants grows with hydroperoxide accumulation. The results illustrating the efficiency of the antioxidants with cyclic chain termination mechanisms in PP containing hydroperoxide groups is presented in Table 19.12. The polyatomic phenols producing quinones also possess the ability to terminate several chains. 

Kinetic Parameters of Inhibitors of Cyclic Chain Termination in PP Containing Hydroperoxide Groups and Reacting with H02 Radicals... 

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