Homolytic oxidations

Part B Reactions with [bis(acyloxy)iodo]arenes. Oxidations. Homolytic Alkylation and Arylation. 

Initiation. Free-radical initiators are produced by several processes. The high temperatures and shearing stresses required for compounding, extmsion, and molding of polymeric materials can produce alkyl radicals by homolytic chain cleavage. Oxidatively sensitive substrates can react directly with oxygen, particularly at elevated temperatures, to yield radicals. 

Autoca.ta.Iysis. The oxidation rate at the start of aging is usually low and increases with time. Radicals, produced by the homolytic decomposition of hydroperoxides and peroxides (eqs. 2—4) accumulated during the propagation and termination steps, initiate new oxidative chain reactions, thereby increasing the oxidation rate. 

Thermally induced homolytic decomposition of peroxides and hydroperoxides to free radicals (eqs. 2—4) increases the rate of oxidation. Decomposition to nonradical species removes hydroperoxides as potential sources of oxidation initiators. Most peroxide decomposers are derived from divalent sulfur and trivalent phosphoms. 

JOC1537). The mechanisms of these transformations may involve homolytic or heterolytic C —S bond fission. A sulfur-walk mechanism has been proposed to account for isomerization or automerization of Dewar thiophenes and their 5-oxides e.g. 31 in Scheme 17) (76JA4325). Calculations show that a symmetrical pyramidal intermediate with the sulfur atom centered over the plane of the four carbon atoms is unlikely <79JOU140l). Reactions which may be mechanistically similar to that shown in Scheme 18 are the thermal isomerization of thiirane (32 Scheme 19) (70CB949) and the rearrangement of (6) to a benzothio-phene (80JOC4366). 

Isoxazole, 3-methoxymethyl-5-methyl-oxidation, 6, 27 Isoxazole, methyl-bromination, S, 88 homolytic halogenation, 6, 51-52 potentiometry, 6, 10 Isoxazole, 3-methyl-basicity, 6, 20 halogenation, 6, 24 hydrogen exchange, 6, 21 sulfonation, 6, 24 synthesis, 6, 83 Isoxazole, 4-methyl-synthesis, 6, 83 Isoxazole, 5-methyl-basicity, 6, 20... 

Most of the free-radical mechanisms discussed thus far have involved some combination of homolytic bond dissociation, atom abstraction, and addition steps. In this section, we will discuss reactions that include discrete electron-transfer steps. Addition to or removal of one electron fi om a diamagnetic organic molecule generates a radical. Organic reactions that involve electron-transfer steps are often mediated by transition-metal ions. Many transition-metal ions have two or more relatively stable oxidation states differing by one electron. Transition-metal ions therefore firequently participate in electron-transfer processes. 

If homolytic reaction conditions (heat and nonpolar solvents) can be avoided and if the reaction is conducted in the presence of a weak base, lead tetraacetate is an efficient oxidant for the conversion of primary and secondary alcohols to aldehydes and ketones. The yield of product is in many cases better than that obtained by oxidation with chromium trioxide. The reaction in pyridine is moderately slow the intial red pyridine complex turns to a yellow solution as the reaction progresses, the color change thus serving as an indicator. The method is surprisingly mild and free of side reactions. Thus 17a-ethinyl-17jS-hydroxy steroids are not attacked and 5a-hydroxy-3-ket-ones are not dehydrated. 

Homolytic aromatic substitution often requires high temperatures, high concentrations of initiator, long reaction times and typically occurs in moderate yields.Such reactions are often conducted under reducing conditions with (TMSlsSiH, even though the reactions are not reductions and often finish with oxidative rearomatization. Reaction (68) shows an example where a solution containing silane (2 equiv) and AIBN (2 equiv) is slowly added (8h) in heated pyridine containing 2-bromopyridine (1 equiv) The synthesis of 2,3 -bipyridine 75 presumably occurs via the formation of cyclohexadienyl radicals 74 and its rearomatization by disproportionation with the alkyl radical from AIBN. ... 

Like dicyclopentadienyltin, it undergoes oxidative addition-reactions with alkyl halides, and, again, there is evidence for a homolytic chain-mechanism (330, 331). 

Reductions by metal ions are covered in Section 6 in terms of (/) electron-acceptance and ii) electron-acceptance concerted with homolytic fission. One group of reactions, which includes oxidations and reductions by metal ions, is that between a metal ion and a neutral free radical. These form a self-contained class which is treated separately in Section 7. 

The auto-decomposition of lead tetraacetate in acetic acid, which normally occurs at reflux temperature , can be studied at 50 °C in the presence of sodium acetate The principal products of both the uncatalysed and catalysed decompositions are acetoxyacetic acid and carbon dioxide. The kinetic order of the normal decay of Pb(IV) is complex and evidence was obtained that oxidation of products is significant after the earliest stages. The evidence indicates that slow, simple homolytic breakage of lead tetraacetate to give Pb(OAc)3- and AcO-does not occur but that the solvent plays an integral part, e.g. 

Complementary to the work with aqueous acidic media is the study of the homolytic decompositions of Co(III) carboxylates in carboxylic acid media by Lande and Kochi . For example, Co(III) is reduced in pivalic acid media with first-order kinetics with E = 30.6 kcal.mole , AS = 8 eu and k ko = 1.28+0.10 (69 °C). The main oxidation products were found to be isobutylene and tert-butyl pivalate, which suggests that (CH3)3C- is an intermediate. Oxidative decarboxylation is the probable course in the analogous oxidations of n-butyric and isobutyric acids, in view of the production of propane and CO2 under normal... 

In broad terms, the following types of reactions are mediated by the homolytic fission products of water (formally, hydrogen, and hydroxyl radicals), and by molecular oxygen including its excited states—hydrolysis, elimination, oxidation, reduction, and cyclization. 

Therefore, we arrive at the same conclusion for the mechanism of COad oxidation in the lower potential regime as for Pt-free Ru(OOOl), postulating that at potentials E < 0.55 V, only strongly bound OHad/Oad species are present in the mixed COad + OHad/Oad adlayer, which are not reactive towards CO2 formation, while for E > 0.55 V, additional, weakly adsorbed OHad/Oad species are formed, which can react with the (likewise destabilized) COad- Similar to COad oxidation on a Ru(OOOl) surface, the reaction starts by dissociative adsorption of H2O on the Ru(OOOl) surface (no shift in the onset potential). In this case, however, the Pt islands can accelerate the reaction by accepting the Hupd resulting from a homolytic dissociation process. Thus, we tentatively propose a mechanism for CO oxidation at potentials between the reaction onset up to the bending point (see also Lin et al. [1999]), which is... 

A crystal structure of the C02 derivative of (8), K[Co(salen)( 71-C02)], haso been reported in which the Co—C bond is 1.99 A, the C—O bonds are both equivalent at 1.22 A and the O-C-O angle is 132°.125 Carboxylation of benzylic and allylic chlorides with C02 in THF-HMPA was achieved with (8) electrogenerated by controlled-potential electrolysis,126 in addition to reductive coupling of methyl pyruvate, diethyl ketomalonate and / -tolylcarbodiimide via C—C bond formation. Methyl pyruvate is transformed into diastereomeric tartrates concomitant with oxidation to the divalent Co(salen) and a free-radical mechanism is proposed involving the homolytic cleavage of the Co—C bond. However, reaction with diphenylketene (DPK) suggests an alternative pathway for the reductive coupling of C02-like compounds. 

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