Hydrogen bonding multiple hydroxyl compounds

The reactions of OH with organic compounds can be classified into three major types (1) hydroxyl addition, (2) hydrogen abstraction, and (3) electron transfer. Which type of reaction takes place depends upon the nature of the substrates present in the medium. Organic compounds containing aromatic ring or carbon-carbon multiple bonds undergo hydroxylation due to the rich n-electron cloud on the aromatic ring. For example ... 

Photocatalytic oxidation of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) was investigated (Sun and Pignatello, 1995). In addition to the dominant hydroxyl radical mechanism, Sun and Pignatello found evidence that direct hole oxidation may be the mechanism for the photocatalytic degradation of some organic compounds. The assumed mechanism for this oxidation is H+ acting as an electron-transfer oxidant, while O behaves like a free OH and abstracts H or adds to C=C multiple bonds. Hole oxidation has been used to explain the oxidation of oxalate and trichloroacetate ions, which lack abstractable hydrogens or unsaturated C-C bonds. Whether the reaction... 

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