Catalytic Oxidative Cleavage Reactions of Arylalkenes by tert-Butyl Hydroperoxide – A Mechanistic Assessment

Oxidative cleavage reactions of aryl-alkenes by tert-butyl hydroperoxide that occur by free radical processes provide access to carboxylic acid or ketone products. However, the pathway to these cleavage products is complex, initiated by regioselective oxygen radical addition to the carbon-carbon double bond. Subsequent reactions of the initially formed benzyl radical lead eventually to carbon-carbon cleavage. Thorough investigations of these reactions have identified numerous reaction intermediates that are on the pathways to final product formation, and they have identified a new synthetic methodology for the synthesis of peroxy radical addition induced hydroperoxide formation.