Oxidation, anthracene napthalene

This is consistent with the observed products of oxidation, i.e. benzyl alcohol, benzaldehyde and benzoic acid and with the observed oxidation of cyclohexane. Radical-cations are, however, probably formed in oxidation of napthalene and anthracene. The increase of oxidation rate with acetonitrile concentration was intepreted in terms of a more reactive complex between Co(III) and CH3CN. The production of substituted benzophenones at high CH3CN concentration indicates the participation of a second route of oxidation. 

Benzo-quinone.—Benzoquinone, or more commonly, simply quinone, is the most common and important of the quinones derived from benzene. Other important quinones will be met with when we study derivatives of the more complex hydrocarbons napthalene and anthracene. Benzoquinone is the one we have used as our example in the above discussion and it is the para-di-keto benzene. It was first obtained by the oxidation of quinic acid, which in turn was obtained from quinine, hence its name. It may also be prepared by oxidizing... 

Coloration and absorption bands have been early noticed in the author s laboratory, when napthalene and anthracene vapor were adsorbed under high vacuum conditions on to a silica-alumina catalyst. They had been ascribed at that time to an oxidation of the adsorbed hydrocarbons by traces of oxygen in the adsorbent. Later study disproved this preliminary interpretation. Meanwhile several authors reported on the appearance of visible colorations and of an EPR spectrum, when anthracene and perylene were adsorbed from evacuated solutions on to a degassed silica-alumina catalyst (106-108). The EPR findings gave indication that adsorbed radicals were involved, similar to those found in strongly oxidizing acid solutions, where the anthracene or perylene cation radicals were expected to be formed (109). 

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