Ketones autoxidation

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). 

According to Quinkert, photoexcited cyclic ketones may be transformed to open-chain unsaturated carboxylic acids in the presence of molecular oxygen. This reaction may compete efficiently with a-cleavage and secondary transformations thereof. Thus, both stereo iso meric 17-ketones (109) and (110) yield as much as 20% of the unsaturated acid (111) when irradiated in benzene under a stream of oxygen. This photolytic autoxidation has been used notably for partial syntheses of naturally occurring unsaturated 3,4-seco-acids from 3-oxo triterpenes (for references, see ref. 72). 

The Pacman catalyst selectively oxidized a broad range of organic substrates including sulfides to the corresponding sulfoxides and olefins to epoxides and ketones. However, cyclohexene gave a typical autoxidation product distribution yielding the allylic oxidation products 2-cyclohexene-l-ol (12%) and 2-cyclohexene-1-one (73%) and the epoxide with 15% yield [115]. 

Kinetic data exist for all these oxidants and some are given in Table 12. The important features are (i) Ce(IV) perchlorate forms 1 1 complexes with ketones with spectroscopically determined formation constants in good agreement with kinetic values (ii) only Co(III) fails to give an appreciable primary kinetic isotope effect (Ir(IV) has yet to be examined in this respect) (/ ) the acidity dependence for Co(III) oxidation is characteristic of the oxidant and iv) in some cases [Co(III) Ce(IV) perchlorate , Mn(III) sulphate ] the rate of disappearance of ketone considerably exceeds the corresponding rate of enolisation however, with Mn(ril) pyrophosphate and Ir(IV) the rates of the two processes are identical and with Ce(IV) sulphate and V(V) the rate of enolisation of ketone exceeds its rate of oxidation. (The opposite has been stated for Ce(IV) sulphate , but this was based on an erroneous value for k(enolisation) for cyclohexanone The oxidation of acetophenone by Mn(III) acetate in acetic acid is a crucial step in the Mn(II)-catalysed autoxidation of this substrate. The rate of autoxidation equals that of enolisation, determined by isotopic exchange , under these conditions, and evidently Mn(III) attacks the enolic form. 

This oxidative process has been successful with ketones,244 esters,245 and lactones.246 Hydrogen peroxide can also be used as the oxidant, in which case the alcohol is formed directly.247 The mechanisms for the oxidation of enolates by oxygen is a radical chain autoxidation in which the propagation step involves electron transfer from the carbanion to a hydroperoxy radical.248... 

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) ... 

Distillation to small volume of a small sample of a 4-year-old mixture of the alcohol with 0.5% of the ketone led to a violent explosion, and the presence of peroxides was subsequently confirmed [1]. Pure alcohols which can form stable radicals (secondary branched structures) may slowly peroxidise to a limited extent under normal storage conditions (isopropanol to 0.0015 M in brown bottle, subdued light during 6 months to 0.0009 M in dark during 5 years) [2], The presence of ketones markedly increases the possibility of peroxidation by sensitising photochemical oxidation of the alcohol. Acetone (produced during autoxidation of isopropanol) is not a good sensitiser, but the presence of even traces of 2-butanone in isopropanol would be expected to accelerate markedly peroxidation of the latter. Treatment of any mixture or old sample of a secondary alcohol with tin(II) chloride and then lime before distillation is recommended [3], The product of photosensitised oxidation is 2-hydroperoxy-2-propanol [4]. 

Numerous autoxidation reactions of aliphatic and araliphatic hydrocarbons, ketones, and esters have been found to be accompanied by chemiluminescence (for reviews see D, p. 19 14>) generally of low intensity and quantum yield. This weak chemiluminescence can be measured by means of modern equipment, especially when fluorescers are used to transform the electronic excitation energy of the triplet carbonyl compounds formed as primary reaction products. It is therefore possible to use it for analytical purposes 35>, e.g. to measure the efficiency of inhibitors as well as initiators in autoxidation of polymer hydrocarbons 14), and in mechanistic studies of radical chain reactions. 

Beside the phosphorescence of the carbonyl compounds produced in autoxidation reactions, there is some additional luminescence by singlet oxygen 14,43) it js sometimes difficult to differentiate between emission and the longer-wavelength part of the ketone phosphorescence 38>. 

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). 

Chain generation in autoxidized ketones proceeds via the bimolecular reaction [4]. The BDE of the a-C—H bonds of the alkyl and benzyl ketones are higher than 330 kJ mol 1 and, therefore, the bimolecular reaction should prevail as the main reaction of radical generation (see Chapter 4). 

The reaction of ions with peroxyl radicals appears also in the composition of the oxidation products, especially at the early stages of oxidation. For example, the only primary oxidation product of cyclohexane autoxidation is hydroperoxide the other products, in particular, alcohol and ketone, appear later as the decomposition products of hydroperoxide. In the presence of stearates of metals such as cobalt, iron, and manganese, all three products (ROOH, ROH, and ketone) appear immediately with the beginning of oxidation, and in the initial period (when ROOH decomposition is insignificant) they are formed in parallel with a constant rate [5,6]. The ratio of the rates of their formation is determined by the catalyst. The reason for this behavior is evidently related to the fast reaction of R02 with the... 

The reverse micelles stabilized by SDS retard the autoxidation of ethylbenzene [27]. It was proved that the SDS micelles catalyze hydroperoxide decomposition without the formation of free radicals. The introduction of cyclohexanol and cyclohexanone in the system decreases the rate of hydroperoxide decay (ethylbenzene, 363 K, [SDS] = 10 3mol L [cyclohexanol] =0.03 mol L-1, and [cyclohexanone] = 0.01 mol L 1 [27]). Such an effect proves that the decay of MePhCHOOH proceeds in the layer of polar molecules surrounding the micelle. The addition of alcohol or ketone lowers the hydroperoxide concentration in such a layer and, therefore, retards hydroperoxide decomposition. The surfactant AOT apparently creates such a layer around water moleculesthat is very thick and creates difficulties for the penetration of hydroperoxide molecules close to polar water. The phenomenology of micellar catalysis is close to that of heterogeneous catalysis and inhibition (see Chapters 10 and 20). 

Searching for other oscillatory autoxidation reactions led Druliner and Wasserman to use cyclohexanone as a substrate instead of benzalde-hyde (168). Unlike the simple stoichiometry found for the benzaldehyde reaction, the ketone gives at least six or more products, and the relative amounts of these vary substantially with the experimental conditions (Scheme 7). 

Benzoisothiazole-2,2-dioxides undergo autoxidation under basic conditions in the presence of TBA-Br to yield 2-aroylaniline derivatives (Scheme 10.6) and the more simple diarylmethylsulphones produce diaryl ketones (Table 10.29) [1],... 

Autoxidation of secondary acetonitriles under phase-transfer catalytic conditions [2] avoids the use of hazardous and/or expensive materials required for the classical conversion of the nitriles into ketones. In the course of C-alkylation of secondary acetonitriles (see Chapter 6), it had been noted that oxidative cleavage of the nitrile group frequently occurred (Scheme 10.7) [3]. In both cases, oxidation of the anionic intermediate presumably proceeds via the peroxy derivative with the extrusion of the cyanate ion [2], Advantage of the direct oxidation reaction has been made in the synthesis of aryl ketones [3], particularly of benzoylheteroarenes. The cyanomethylheteroarenes, obtained by a photochemically induced reaction of halo-heteroarenes with phenylacetonitrile, are oxidized by air under the basic conditions. Oxidative coupling of bromoacetonitriles under basic catalytic conditions has been also observed (see Chapter 6). 

The autoxidation of cyclic ketones with dirhenium decacarbonyl under basic catalytic conditions produces dicarboxylic acids (68-73%) bicyclic ketones are converted into keto carboxylic acids and, when one ring is aromatic, quinones are obtained, e.g. 1-tetralone produces 2-hydroxy-1,4-naphthaquinone (93%), and H02C(CH2)4C0(CH2)3C02H (85%) is obtained from 1-decalone via a cyclic triketone [5]. 

The metal-catalysed autoxidation of alkenes to produce ketones (Wacker reaction) is promoted by the presence of quaternary ammonium salts [14]. For example, using copper(II) chloride and palladium(II) chloride in benzene in the presence of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide, 1-decene is converted into 2-decanone (73%), 1,7-octadiene into 2,7-octadione (77%) and vinylcyclohexane into cyclo-hexylethanone (22%). Benzyltriethylammonium chloride and tetra-n-butylammo-nium hydrogen sulphate are ineffective catalysts. It has been suggested that the process is not micellar, although the catalysts have the characteristics of those which produce micelles. The Wacker reaction is also catalysed by rhodium and ruthenium salts in the presence of a quaternary ammonium salt. Generally, however, the yields are lower than those obtained using the palladium catalyst and, frequently, several oxidation products are obtained from each reaction [15]. 

The relations above seem to apply to ethers (31, 32, 33) as well as hydrocarbons. Oxidations of alcohols (33) and a few hydrocarbons (22) utilize as chain carriers HOo radicals which have high termination constants. We are now investigating the behavior of some alcohols, ketones, and esters in autoxidations. 

Butenes were subjected to photosensitized reaction with molecular oxygen in methanol. 1-Butene proved unreactive. A single hydroperoxide, l-butene-3-hydroperoxide, was produced from 2-butene and isolated by preparative gas chromatography, Thermal and catalyzed decomposition of pure hydroperoxide in benzene and other solvents did not result in formation of any acetaldehyde or propionaldehyde. The absence of these aldehydes suggests that they arise by an addition mechanism in the autoxidation of butenes where they are important products. l-Butene-3-hydroperoxide in the absence of catalyst is converted predominantly to methyl vinyl ketone and a smaller quantity of methyl vinyl carbinol —volatile products usually not detected in important quantities in the autoxidation of butene. 

Of the many studies of the autoxidation of butenes, few (5,11) have emphasized methyl vinyl ketone and methyl vinyl carbinol as major products. In the cumene hydroperoxide-initiated oxidation of 1-butene at 105°C. with 60 atm. of air, Chernyak (5) reported an average hourly rate of production of these two products approximately equal to the combined rates of formation of hydroperoxide and epoxide. The reported rates for hydroperoxide plus vinyl ketone and alcohol indicate that 60% of the products occur by abstraction, in agreement with Van Sickle (17). 

H. R. Gersmann (Koninklyke Shell Laboratories, Amsterdam, Netherlands) The results obtained by Russell correlate with those obtained by Gersmann and Niewenhuis (Organic Reaction Symposium, Cork, 1964) in the study of autoxidation of esters and ketones. Here weakly acidic esters also showed rates of ionization equal to the rate of oxidation as shown by the equality of the rate of racemization of an optically active ester to the rate of oxidation. 

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