Hydroperoxide
Hydroperoxide
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Hydroperoxide

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Hydroperoxide

Hydroperoxides or peroxols are compounds of the form ROOH, where R stands for any group, typically organic, which contain the hydroperoxy functional group (−OOH). Hydroperoxide also refers to the hydroperoxide anion (OOH) and its salts, and the neutral hydroperoxyl radical (•OOH) consist of an unbound hydroperoxy group. When R is organic, the compounds are called organic hydroperoxides. Such compounds are a subset of organic peroxides, which have the formula ROOR. Organic hydroperoxides can either intentionally or unintentionally initiate explosive polymerisation in materials with saturated chemical bonds.

The O−O bond length in peroxides is about 1.45 Å, and the R−O−O angles (R = H, C) are about 110° (water-like). Characteristically, the C−O−O−H dihedral angles are about 120°. The O−O bond is relatively weak, with a bond dissociation energy of 45–50 kcal/mol (190–210 kJ/mol), less than half the strengths of C−C, C−H, and C−O bonds.

Hydroperoxides are typically more volatile than the corresponding alcohols:

Hydroperoxides are mildly acidic. The range is indicated by 11.5 for CH3OOH to 13.1 for Ph3COOH.

Hydroperoxides can be reduced to alcohols with lithium aluminium hydride, as described in this idealized equation:

This reaction is the basis of methods for analysis of organic peroxides. Another way to evaluate the content of peracids and peroxides is the volumetric titration with alkoxides such as sodium ethoxide. The phosphite esters and tertiary phosphines also effect reduction:

"The single most important synthetic application of alkyl hydroperoxides is without doubt the metal-catalysed epoxidation of alkenes." In the Halcon process tert-butyl hydroperoxide (TBHP) is employed for the production of propylene oxide.

Of specialized interest, chiral epoxides are prepared using hydroperoxides as reagents in the Sharpless epoxidation.

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