The oxidation of aromatic hydrocarbons at high pressures. I— Benzene. II— Toluene. III— Ethyl Benzene

Abstract

It has been shown in previous papers of this series that during the slow combustion of the aliphatic hydrocarbons at high pressure conditions are particularly favourable to the isolation of the intermediate compounds involved, and that such oxidations take place by successive stages of hydroxylation. The work has now been extended to include the aromatic hydrocarbons, and the present paper embodies the results for benzene, toluene, and ethyl benzene. The homogeneous slow oxidation of benzene in the vapour phase has been studied by Fort and Hinshelwood, who concluded that at atmospheric pressure it proceeds by a chain mechanism somewhat analogous to that which they postulated for ethylene. Although a complete analysis of the products of combustion was not made, other circumstances suggested that during an "apparent period of induction" the first products were formed without pressure increase, and that, to quote their words, 'hydroxylation of the double bonds may be assumed to occur, followed by rapid further oxidation of the open chain unsaturated compound so produced to a substance like glyoxal. The remaining stages would then be analagous to the oxidation of acetylene