Nitrile oxides industrial applications

In the course of these reactions, P450 3A4 catalyzes examples of some atypical reactions " including desaturation , oxidative carboxylic acid ester cleavage , and oxidation of a nitrile to an amide . An unexpected reaction encountered in this laboratory was the oxidation of alkylphenyl ether non-ionic detergents, which have been commonly used in enzyme purifications and also have some medical and industrial applications . Methylene hydroxylations yield hemiacetals, which break down to shorten the chains . 

TABLE 7. Organic cyanates and a nitrile oxide that found industrial application ... 

The chemical reactivity of resin acids is determined hy the presence of hoth the double- bond system and the COOH group [5], The carboxylic group is mainly involved in esterification, salt formation, decarboxylation, nitrile and anhydrides formation, etc. These reactions are obviously relevant to both abietic- and pimaric-type acids (Rgs 4.1 and 4.3, respectively). The olefinic system can be involved in oxidation, reduction, hydrogenation and dehydrogenation reactions. Given the conjugated character of this system in the abietic-type acids, and the enhanced reactivity associated with it, much more attention has been devoted to these stractures. In terms of industrial applications, salt formation, esterification, and Diels-Alder additions are the most relevant reactions of resin acids. 

Rare earth oxides have been studied to a lesser extent than alkaline earth oxides. However, they show characteristic selectivity in the dehydration of alcohols. Secondary alcohols form 1-olefins, whereas the same reaction over an acid catalyst produces the thermodynamically more stable 2-olefin (312). An example of an industrially important rare earth oxide catalyst is Zr02. It has several applications, including the reduction of aromatic carboxylic acids with hydrogen to aldehydes (314), the dehydration of 1-cyclohexyl ethanol to vinyl cyclohexane (315), and the production of diisobutyl ketone from isobutyraldehyde (316). The extensive use of Zr02 is mainly due to its resistance to poisoning by H2O and CO2, and its inherent catalytic activity is a result of its bifunctional acid-base properties. It contains both weakly acidic and basic sites, neither of which is susceptible to poisoning. The acid-base functionality of Zr02 is displayed in the reaction of alkylamine to nitrile (278) (Fig. 33). To form nitriles from both secondary and tertiary amines, both acid and base sites are required. 

Studies of chemical attack on nitrile rubber by fluids encountered in sealing applications in the oil industry are reported. The results showed that excessive hardening of nitrile rubber in the downhole oilfield environment occurs at the acrylonitrile sites, and that it could be due to either hydrolysis or reduction of the cyano group. Hydrolysis is driven by Bronsted acids (proton donors) and reduction by Lewis acids (electron donors). Catalysis by metal ions could possibly cause these reactions to occur at a greatly reduced activation energy. Oxidative attack at the butadiene sites is the primary cause of hardening in aboveground applications of nitrile rubber. 12 refs. 

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