Cooxidation of beta-carotene by an isoenzyme of soybean lipoxygenase

Ethers represent a class of chemical compounds that become more dangerous with prolonged storage because they tend to form explosive peroxides when standing in the air. Autoxidation is the spontaneous oxidation of a compound in air. In the presence of oxygen, ethers slowly oxidize to form hydroperoxides and dialkyl peroxides.

Alkenes are converted to 1,2-diols or glycols through a process called dihydroxylation. It involves the addition of two hydroxyl groups across the double bond with two different stereochemical approaches, namely anti and syn. Dihydroxylation using osmium tetroxide progresses with syn stereochemistry.

Diols are compounds with two hydroxyl groups. In addition to syn dihydroxylation, diols can also be synthesized through the process of anti dihydroxylation. The process involves treating an alkene with a peroxycarboxylic acid to form an epoxide. Epoxides are highly strained three-membered rings with oxygen and two carbons occupying the corners of an equilateral triangle. This step is followed by ring-opening of the epoxide in the presence of an aqueous acid to give a trans diol.

Baeyer–Villiger oxidation converts aldehydes to carboxylic acids and ketones to esters. The reaction uses peroxy acids or peracids and is often catalyzed by acid. The reaction is named after its pioneers, Adolf von Baeyer and Victor Villiger. The reaction is achieved by a wide range of peracids such as m-chloroperoxybenzoic acid (mCPBA), perbenzoic acid (C6H5COOOH), peracetic acid (CH3COOOH), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), and tert-butyl hydroperoxide (t-BuOOH).
The carbonyl center is activated by...

Carboxylic acids, upon heating, undergo a decarboxylation reaction by releasing carbon dioxide gas. Monocarboxylic acids do not undergo decarboxylation easily. However, a silver salt of carboxylic acid reacts with bromine or iodine under high temperature to release carbon dioxide gas and forms halide with one less carbon. This reaction is called the Hunsdiecker reaction.

The oxidation of an organic compound in the presence of air or oxygen is called autoxidation. For example, cumene reacts with oxygen to form hydroperoxide. Autoxidation involves initiation, propagation, and termination steps. Many organic compounds are susceptible to autoxidation—especially ethers in the presence of oxygen, which form hydroperoxides. Even though this reaction is slow, old ether bottles contain small amounts of peroxide, which leads to laboratory explosions during ether...