Hydrocarbons react with molar concentrations of peracetic acid
and halide salts to yield predominantly monohalogenated products
under optimum conditions, with chlorination being more oxidatively
efficient than bromination. The alkane halogenation proceeds at
ambient temperature and does not require a heavy-metal catalyst.
The observed reactivity is consistent with a radical mechanism,
in which the peracid initially reacts with the halide ions to yield
halogen-atom radicals, which ultimately oxidize the hydrocarbon.
Although the reactivity proceeds slightly more efficiently in acetonitrile,
the halogenation protocol works well in water.
alkanes - oxidation - halogenation - free
radicals - green chemistry