The Formation of Byproducts in the Autoxidation of Cyclohexane

Tailoring the electron density of cobalt oxide clusters to provide highly selective superoxide and peroxide species for aerobic cyclohexane oxidation

The catalytic aerobic cyclohexane oxidation to cyclohexanol and cyclohexanone (KA oil) is an industrially relevant reaction. This work is focused on the synthesis of tailor-made catalysts based on the well-known Co₄O₄ core in order to successfully deal with cyclohexane oxidation reaction. The catalytic activity and selectivity of the synthesized catalysts can be correlated with the electronic density of the cluster, modulated by changing the organic ligands. This is not trivial in cyclohexane oxidation. Furthermore, the reaction mechanism is discussed on the basis of kinetics and spin trapping experiments, confirming that the electronic density of the catalyst has a clear influence on the distribution of the reaction products. In addition, in situ Raman spectroscopy was used to characterize the oxygen species formed on the cobalt cluster during the oxidation reaction. Altogether, it can be concluded that the catalyst with the highest oxidation potential promotes the formation of peroxide and superoxide species, which is the best way to oxidize inactivated CH bonds in alkanes. Finally, based on the results of the mechanistic studies, the contribution of these cobalt oxide clusters in each single reaction step of the whole process has been proposed.

Density functional theory study of selective aerobic oxidation of cyclohexane: the roles of acetic acid and cobalt ion

A computational study of cyclohexane autoxidation and catalytic oxidation to a cyclohexyl hydroperoxide intermediate (CyOOH), cyclohexanol, and cyclohexanone has been conducted using a hybrid density functional theory method. The activation of cyclohexane and O₂ is the rate-determining step in the formation of CyOOH due to its relatively high energy barrier of 41.2 kcal/mol, and the subsequent reaction behavior of CyOOH controls whether the production of cyclohexanol or cyclohexanone is favored. Using CH₃COOH or (CH₃COO)₂Co as a catalyst reduces the energy barriers required to activate cyclohexane and O₂ by 4.1 or 7.9 kcal/mol, respectively. Employing CH₃COOH improves the CyOOH intramolecular dehydration process, which favors the formation of cyclohexanone. The energy barrier to the decomposition of CyOOH to CyO·, an important precursor of cyclohexanol, decreases from 35.5 kcal/mol for autoxidation to 25.9 kcal/mol for (CH₃COO)₂Co catalysis. (CH₃COO)₂Co promotes the autoxidation process via a radical chain mechanism. The computational results agree with experimental observations quite well, revealing the underlying role of CH₃COOH and Co ion in cyclohexane oxidation. Graphical abstract Through DFT analysis of cyclohexane autoxidation and catalytic oxidation, we reveal the mechanism of the effects of CH₃COOH and Co²⁺ on the reaction routes.

Unravelling the radical transition during the carbon-catalyzed oxidation of cyclohexane by in situ electron paramagnetic resonance in the liquid phase

The selective oxidation of hydrocarbons is of great importance in the chemical industry.

Solvent-free oxidation of cyclohexane by oxygen over Al–Cu–Co alloys: influence of the phase structure and electrical conductivity on catalytic activity

Cu dissolved in the Al₁₃Co₄ phase promotes the electrical conductivity and catalytic activity of Al–Cu–Co alloys.

Synergistic effect of co-reactant promotes one-step oxidation of cyclohexane into adipic acid catalyzed by manganese porphyrins

The synergistic effect of cyclohexane and cyclohexanone promoted synthesis of adipic acid catalyzed by [MnIIIT(p-Cl)PP]Cl with cyclohexane and cyclohexanone as co-reactants. The results showed that the conversions of cyclohexane and cyclohexanone were significantly enhanced because of the cyclohexanone synergistic effect, and the higher selectivity to adipic acid was obtained with dioxygen as an oxidant. The studies indicated that the co-oxidation of cyclohexane and cyclohexanone was influenced by the initial molar ratio of cyclohexanone and cyclohexane, catalyst structure, catalyst concentrations, and reaction conditions. The preliminary mechanism of the co-oxidation reaction of cyclohexane and cyclohexanone using [MnIIIT(p-Cl)PP]Cl as the catalyst was proposed.

Catalytic oxidation of cyclohexane by substituted metalloporphyrins: experimental and molecular simulation

The metalloporphyrins and metalloporphyrin intermediates with lower energy gap have stronger ability to activate the oxygen and cyclohexane respectively.

Catalytic oxygen activation versus autoxidation for industrial applications: a physicochemical approach

The activation and use of oxygen for the oxidation and functionalization of organic substrates are among the most important reactions in a chemist's toolbox. Nevertheless, despite the vast literature on catalytic oxidation, the phenomenon of autoxidation, an ever-present background reaction that occurs in virtually every oxidation process, is often neglected. In contrast, autoxidation can affect the selectivity to a desired product, to those dictated by pure free-radical chain pathways, thus affecting the activity of any catalyst used to carry out a reaction. This critical review compares catalytic oxidation routes by transition metals versus autoxidation, particularly focusing on the industrial context, where highly selective and "green" processes are needed. Furthermore, the application of useful tests to discriminate between different oxygen activation routes, especially in the area of hydrocarbon oxidation, with the aim of an enhanced catalyst design, is described and discussed. In fact, one of the major targets of selective oxidation is the use of molecular oxygen as the ultimate oxidant, combined with the development of catalysts capable of performing the catalytic cycle in a real energy and cost effective manner on a large scale. To achieve this goal, insights from metallo-proteins that could find application in some areas of industrial catalysis are presented, as well as considering the physicochemical principles that are fundamental to oxidation and autoxidation processes.

Highly Efficient Nano-Catalysts Using Activated Carbon as a Support for One-Step Oxidation of Cyclohexane to Adipic Acid

A new route to substitute for the traditional two-step method for adipic acid production has been investigated. Supported nano metal catalysts Au/C and Co/C were prepared and used for liquid phase oxidation of cyclohexane to adipic acid with oxygen as an oxidant. These catalysts were characterized by XRD, TEM and ICP-AES. The reactions were carried out in an autoclave with solvent and radical initiator at 373~423K and 1.5 MPa. Au/C (1.25%) was found to be a highly efficient catalyst for the oxidation of cyclohexane with a high conversion (44.93%) of cyclohexane and more than 54.85% selectivity to adipic acid. It is indicated that there was a potential application prospect for the nano-catalysts in one-step oxidation of cyclohexane to adipic acid.

Cyclohexane oxidation using Au/MgO: an investigation of the reaction mechanism

The liquid phase oxidation of cyclohexane was undertaken using Au/MgO and the reaction mechanism was investigated by means of continuous wave (CW) EPR spectroscopy employing the spin trapping technique. Activity tests aimed to determine the conversion and selectivity of Au/MgO catalyst showed that Au was capable of selectivity control to cyclohexanol formation up to 70%, but this was accompanied by a limited enhancement in conversion when compared with the reaction in the absence of catalyst. In contrast, when radical initiators were used, in combination with Au/MgO, an activity comparable to that observed in industrial processes at ca. 5% conversion was found, with retained high selectivity. By studying the free radical autoxidation of cyclohexane and the cyclohexyl hydroperoxide decomposition in the presence of spin traps, we show that Au nanoparticles are capable of an enhanced generation of cyclohexyl alkoxy radicals, and the role of Au is identified as a promoter of the catalytic autoxidation processes, therefore demonstrating that the reaction proceeds via a radical chain mechanism.

Cavitation-induced radical-chain oxidation of valeric aldehyde

The application of high-amplitude ultrasound to liquids triggers cavitation. By the collapse of the thereby appearing vacuum cavities, high temperatures can be reached in a transient manner. The high temperatures in these hot-spots can lead to homolytic scission of chemical bonds. The thereby generated radicals are usually utilized in aqueous systems for the degeneration of organic pollutants. In this contribution, we demonstrate that the radicals can also be used for synthetic purposes: under an oxygen atmosphere, they trigger the oxidation of an aldehyde substrate.

Preparation, size control, surface deposition, and catalytic reactivity of hydrophobic corrolazine nanoparticles in an aqueous environment

Nanoparticles, each consisting of one of the three molecular corrolazine (Cz) compounds, H(3)(TBP(8)Cz), Mn(III)(TBP(8)Cz), and Fe(III)(TBP(8)Cz) (TBP(8)Cz = octakis(4-tert-butylphenyl)corrolazinato), were prepared via a facile mixed-solvent technique. The corrolazine nanoparticles (MCz-NPs) were formed in H(2)O/THF (10:1) in the presence of a small amount of a polyethylene glycol derivative (TEG-ME) added as a stabilizer. This technique allows highly hydrophobic Czs to be "dissolved" in an aqueous environment as nanoparticles, which remain in solution for several months without visible precipitation. The MCz-NPs were characterized by UV-visible spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering (DLS), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) imaging, and shown to be spherical particles from 100-600 nm in diameter with low polydispersity indices (PDI = 0.003-0.261). Particle size is strongly dependent on Cz concentration. The H(3)Cz-NPs were adsorbed on to a modified self-assembled monolayer (SAM) surface and imaged by atomic force microscopy (AFM). Adsorption resulted in disassembly of the larger H(3)Cz-NPs to smaller H(3)Cz-NPs, whereby the resulting particle size can be controlled by the surface energy of the monolayer. The Fe(III)Cz-NPs were shown to be competent catalysts for the oxidation of cyclohexene with either PFIB or H(2)O(2) as external oxidant. The reactivity and product selectivity seen for Fe(III)Cz-NPs differs dramatically from that seen for the molecular species in organic solvents, suggesting that both the nanoparticle structure and the aqueous conditions may contribute to significant changes in the mechanism of action of the Fe(III)Cz catalyst.

Mechanism of the aerobic oxidation of alpha-pinene

A combined experimental and theoretical approach is used to study the thermal autoxidation of alpha-pinene. Four different types of peroxyl radicals are generated; the verbenyl peroxyl radical being the most abundant one. The peroxyl radicals propagate a long radical chain, implying that chain termination does not play an important role in the production of the products. Two distinct types of propagation steps are active in parallel: the abstraction of allylic H atoms and the addition to the unsaturated C=C bond. The efficiency for both pathways appears to depend on the structure of the peroxyl radical. The latter step yields the corresponding epoxide product, as well as alkoxyl radicals. Under the investigated reaction conditions the alkoxyl radicals seem to produce both the alcohol and ketone products, the ketone presumably being formed upon the abstraction of the weakly bonded alphaH atom by O2. This mechanism explains the predominantly primary nature of all quantified products. At higher conversion, co-oxidation of the hydroperoxide products constitutes an additional, albeit small, source of alcohol and ketone products.

Metal-TUD-1 Catalyzed Aerobic Oxidation of Cyclohexane: A Comparative Study

The relative performance of various metal-incorporated mesoporous silicas of the TUD-1 structure type (M-TUD-1, where M = Ti, Cr, Co, Fe, Cu, Mn) in the selective aerobic oxidation of cyclohexane with tert-butylhydroperoxide and cyclohexylhydroperoxide (CHHP) to the respective hydroperoxides and subsequent decomposition to the alcohol and ketone is reported. In particular, relationships regarding metal type and loading, silica structure type and peroxide initiator are elucidated, to show that it is possible to tune catalysts for either CHHP formation or CHHP decomposition.

Autoxidation of Ethylbenzene: The Mechanism Elucidated

Using a combined experimental and theoretical approach, we elucidated the mechanism of ethylbenzene autoxidation, at about 420 K. The generally accepted literature mechanism indeed fails to explain basic experimental observations, such as the high ketone to alcohol ratio. The hitherto overlooked propagation of 1-phenyl-ethylhydroperoxide, the primary chain product, is now unambiguously identified as the source of acetophenone as well as of 1-phenylethanol via a subsequent activated cage reaction. A similar mechanism allowed rationalizing of the cyclohexanone and cyclohexanol formation in the autoxidation of cyclohexane. The primary hydroperoxide product is found to react about 10 times faster than the arylalkane substrate with the chain carrying peroxyl radicals, whereas in cyclohexane autoxidation, this reactivity ratio is as high as 55. In combination with a lower efficiency of the above-mentioned cage reaction, this results in a rather high 1-phenyl-ethylhydroperoxide yield and causes a high ketone/alcohol ratio. Radicals are shown to be predominantly generated via a concerted bimolecular reaction of the hydroperoxide with the arylalkane substrate, producing alkyl and hydrated alkoxy free radicals. In this autoxidation system, no reaction product exhibits a major initiation-enhancing autocatalytic effect, as is the case with cyclohexanone in cyclohexane autoxidation. As a result, the conversion rate increases less sharply in time compared to cyclohexane autoxidation. In fact, even some slight inhibition can be observed, due to the formation of chain-terminating HO2* radicals in the alcohol co-oxidation. At 418 K, the chain length is estimated to be about 300-500 for conversions up to 10%.