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High value of kinetic isotopic effect during hydroxylation of cyclohexane catalyzed by iron porphyrins

Journal Article · · Kinet. Catal. (Engl. Transl.); (United States)
OSTI ID:5837119

The NaOCl-porphyrin iron chloride system (PorFeCl) that the authors recently discovered selectively oxidizes alkanes into alcohols at room temperature under interphase catalysis conditions. In this communication they submit data on the deuterisotopic effect k/sub H//k/sub D/ in the oxidation reaction of cyclohexane in this system, measured by the competitive reactions method. To explain the unusually high values of the isotopic effects (up to k/sub H//k/sub D/ = 21.9 for the tetramesitylporphyrin complex), they assume the contribution of tunneling during the transfer of the hydrogen atom from alkane to the oxygen atom coordinated to iron-porphyrin, since without the participation of tunneling, the k/sub H//k/sub D/ does not exceed the values of 6-8. If the tunneling is taken into account, the isotopic effect should probably decrease with increase in the electronegativity of the side substituents of the reacting porphyrin complex, which plays the role of an electrophile, since the energy barrier in the reaction with the C-H bond is thus lower. The data show that such a decrease in the value of k/sub H//k/sub D/ is indeed observed experimentally.

Research Organization:
Institute of Chemical Physics, Chernogolovka (USSR)
OSTI ID:
5837119
Journal Information:
Kinet. Catal. (Engl. Transl.); (United States), Journal Name: Kinet. Catal. (Engl. Transl.); (United States) Vol. 29:4; ISSN KICAA
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English