Reaction hydroperoxide chain reactions

Oxidation inhibitors function by intermpting the hydroperoxide chain reaction. At temperatures up to ca 120°C, di-Z fZ-butyl- -cresol, 2-naphthol,... 

Oxidation. Atmospheric oxygen can oxidize polymer chains through the well known peroxide and hydroperoxide chain reaction. Free radicals have to be initiated to start this chain, and these are often formed by UV light. In practice it is usually necessary to incorporate some form of UV absorber and antioxidant in a polymeric material for service out of doors. 

Oxidation reactions are chain reactions which follow a free radical mechanism. In chain reactions three distinct steps are present initiation, propagation and termination. During initiation a free macroradical (P") is generated in the polymer by heating, radiation or stress. This reacts readily with oxygen to yield a peroxy radical (POO"), the peroxy free-radical abstracts hydrogen from another polymer molecule (PH) creating a new macroradical and a hydroperoxide (POOH). Then the hydroperoxide decomposes to two new free radicals, which are also initiators of the chain reaction. These chain reactions have severe consequences for the polymer, and cause extensive localized oxidation. 

Oxidation begins with the breakdown of hydroperoxides and the formation of free radicals. These reactive peroxy radicals initiate a chain reaction that propagates the breakdown of hydroperoxides into aldehydes (qv), ketones (qv), alcohols, and hydrocarbons (qv). These breakdown products make an oxidized product organoleptically unacceptable. Antioxidants work by donating a hydrogen atom to the reactive peroxide radical, ending the chain reaction (17). 

One characteristic of chain reactions is that frequentiy some initiating process is required. In hydrocarbon oxidations radicals must be introduced and to be self-sustained, some source of radicals must be produced in a chain-branching step. Moreover, new radicals must be suppHed at a rate sufficient to replace those lost by chain termination. In hydrocarbon oxidation, this usually involves the hydroperoxide cycle (eqs. 1—5). 

Carbon-centered radicals generally react very rapidly with oxygen to generate peroxy radicals (eq. 2). The peroxy radicals can abstract hydrogen from a hydrocarbon molecule to yield a hydroperoxide and a new radical (eq. 3). This new radical can participate in reaction 2 and continue the chain. Reactions 2 and 3 are the propagation steps. Except under oxygen starved conditions, reaction 3 is rate limiting. 

An important descriptor of a chain reaction is the kinetic chain length, ie, the number of cycles of the propagation steps (eqs. 2 and 3) for each new radical introduced into the system. The chain length for a hydroperoxide reaction is given by equation (10) where HPE = efficiency to hydroperoxide, %, and 2/ = number of effective radicals generated per mol of hydroperoxide decomposed. For 100% radical generation efficiency, / = 1. For 90% efficiency to hydroperoxide, the minimum chain length (/ = 1) is 14. 

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. 

The peioxy free radicals can abstract hydrogens from other activated methylene groups between double bonds to form additional hydroperoxides and generate additional free radicals like (1). Thus a chain reaction is estabhshed resulting in autoxidation. The free radicals participate in these reactions, and also react with each other resulting in cross-linking by combination. 

In order to induce the free-radical chain reaction, a starter compound such as dibenzoyl diperoxide, azo-Zj -(isobutyronitrile) or tcrt-butyl hydroperoxide or UV-light is used. The commercially available, technical grade N-bromosuccinimide contains traces of bromine, and therefore is of slight red-brown color. Since a small amount of elemental bromine is necessary for the radical... 

Bateman, Gee, Barnard, and others at the British Rubber Producers Research Association [6,7] developed a free radical chain reaction mechanism to explain the autoxidation of rubber which was later extended to other polymers and hydrocarbon compounds of technological importance [8,9]. Scheme 1 gives the main steps of the free radical chain reaction process involved in polymer oxidation and highlights the important role of hydroperoxides in the autoinitiation reaction, reaction lb and Ic. For most polymers, reaction le is rate determining and hence at normal oxygen pressures, the concentration of peroxyl radical (ROO ) is maximum and termination is favoured by reactions of ROO reactions If and Ig. 

The accumulation of hydroperoxides and their subsequent decomposition to alkoxyl and peroxyl radicals can accelerate the chain reaction of polyunsaturated fatty-acid p>eroxidation leading to oxidative damage to cells and membranes as well as lipoproteins. It is well-recognized that transition metals or haem proteins, through their... 

Free radicals P generated during the initiation process (reaction 1) are, in the presence of oxygen, converted to peroxyl radicals POj (reaction 2), and subsequently to hydroperoxides (reaction 3) intermediate hydroperoxides provoke further chain reaction unless stabilizers (InH or D) are used to interrupt it (reactions 12 and 13). Respective reaction of the scheme is completed by the method that monitors it. 

Hydroperoxides can form in fairly long chain reactions with the reaction sequence indicated as follows ... 

Oxidation of organic compounds by dioxygen is a phenomenon of exceptional importance in nature, technology, and life. The liquid-phase oxidation of hydrocarbons forms the basis of several efficient technological synthetic processes such as the production of phenol via cumene oxidation, cyclohexanone from cyclohexane, styrene oxide from ethylbenzene, etc. The intensive development of oxidative petrochemical processes was observed in 1950-1970. Free radicals participate in the oxidation of organic compounds. Oxidation occurs very often as a chain reaction. Hydroperoxides are formed as intermediates and accelerate oxidation. The chemistry of the liquid-phase oxidation of organic compounds is closely interwoven with free radical chemistry, chemistry of peroxides, kinetics of chain reactions, and polymer chemistry. 

The last reaction occurs more rapidly than the reaction of chain termination and as a result two simultaneous chain reactions occur, one with the formation of hydroperoxide and other with alcohol production ... 

Secondary hydroperoxides are decomposed in oxidizing hydrocarbons in the chain reaction with peroxyl radicals [138]. 

In the absence of dioxygen when hydroperoxide initiates the formation of alkyl radicals, the following chain reaction of ROOH decomposition occurs [139]. 

Scheme B. Oxidation occurs as a chain reaction in scheme A. However, hydroperoxide formed is decomposed not by the reaction with free radicals but by a first-order molecular reaction with the rate constant km [3,56]. This scheme is valid for the oxidation of hydrocarbons where tertiary C—H bonds are attacked. For km 3> k i[RH] the maximum [ROOH] is attained at the hydroperoxide concentration when the rate of the formation of ROOH becomes equal to the rate of ROOH decay fl[RH](kj [ROOH][RH])l/2 km[ROOH] therefore, [ROOH]max = a2kn km 2 [RH]3. The kinetics of ROOH formation and RH consumption are described by the following equations [3],...

In the initial period the oxidation of hydrocarbon RH proceeds as a chain reaction with one limiting step of chain propagation, namely reaction R02 + RH. The rate of the reaction is determined only by the activity and the concentration of peroxyl radicals. As soon as the oxidation products (hydroperoxide, alcohol, ketone, etc.) accumulate, the peroxyl radicals react with these products. As a result, the peroxyl radicals formed from RH (R02 ) are replaced by other free radicals. Thus, the oxidation of hydrocarbon in the presence of produced and oxidized intermediates is performed in co-oxidation with complex composition of free radicals propagating the chain [4], A few examples are given below. 

PINO possesses a high reactivity in the reaction with the C—H bond of the hydrocarbon. Hence, the substitution of peroxyl radicals to nitroxyl radicals accelerates the chain reaction of oxidation. The accumulation of hydroperoxide in the oxidized hydrocarbon should decrease the oxidation rate because of the equilibrium reaction. 

The experimental data are in agreement with this equation. In the presence of dioxygen, the alkyl radicals formed from enol rapidly react with dioxygen and thus the formed peroxyl radicals react with Fe2+ with the formation of hydroperoxide. The formed hydroperoxide is decomposed catalytically to molecular products (AcOH and AcH) as well as to free radicals. The free radicals initiate the chain reaction resulting in the increase of the oxidation rate. 

Hydroperoxide is produced in the chain reaction with bimolecular chain termination. The rate of ROOH formation is proportional to (initiation rate)172 and the shorter the chain length higher the initiation rate. With increasing concentration of the catalyst this situation is encountered when the reaction occurs with v = 1. 

During PP oxidation, hydroxyl groups are formed by the intramolecular isomerization of alkyl radicals. Since PP oxidizes through an intense intramolecular chain transfer, many of the alkyl radicals containing hydroperoxy groups in the 0-position to an available bond can undergo this reaction. An isomerization reaction has also been demonstrated for the liquid-phase oxidation of 2,4-dimethylpentane [89], Oxidation products contain, in addition to hydroperoxides, oxide or diol. 

As already noted (see Chapter 4), autoxidation is a degenerate branching chain reaction with a positive feedback via hydroperoxide the oxidation of RH produces ROOH that acts as an initiator of oxidation. The characteristic features of inhibited autoxidation, which are primarily due to this feedback, are the following [18,21,23,26,31-33] ... 

The duration of the inhibition period of a chain-breaking inhibitor of autoxidation is proportional to its efficiency. Indeed, with an increasing rate of chain termination, the rates of hydroperoxide formation and, hence, chain initiation decrease, which results in the lengthening of the induction period (this problem will be considered in a more detailed manner later). It should be noted that when initiated oxidation occurs as a straight chain reaction, the induction period depends on the concentration of the inhibitor, its inhibitory capacity, and the rate of initiation, but does not depend on the inhibitor efficiency. 

As shown above (see earlier) for straight chain reactions, the inhibitor is consumed at a constant rate v-Jf Similarly, during the inhibited autoxidation of RH, the inhibitor is initially consumed at a constant rate vi0/f, but then the rate of inhibitor consumption drastically increases [57,58], which leads to a rapid accumulation of hydroperoxide and the enhancement of initiation (see Figure 14.1). 

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