Autoxidation
Spontaneous oxidation by oxygen at normal temperature / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dear Wikiwand AI, let's keep it short by simply answering these key questions:
Can you list the top facts and stats about Autoxidation?
Summarize this article for a 10 year old
Autoxidation (sometimes auto-oxidation) refers to oxidations brought about by reactions with oxygen at normal temperatures, without the intervention of flame or electric spark.[1] The term is usually used to describe the gradual degradation of organic compounds in air at ambient temperatures. Many common phenomena can be attributed to autoxidation, such as food going rancid,[2] the 'drying' of varnishes and paints, and the perishing of rubber.[3] It is also an important concept in both industrial chemistry and biology.[4] Autoxidation is therefore a fairly broad term and can encompass examples of photooxygenation and catalytic oxidation.
The common mechanism is a free radical chain reaction, where the addition of oxygen gives rise to hydroperoxides and their associated peroxy radicals (ROO•).[5] Typically, an induction period is seen at the start where there is little activity; this is followed by a gradually accelerating take-up of oxygen, giving an autocatalytic reaction which can only be kept in check by the use of antioxidants. Unsaturated compounds are the most strongly affected but many organic materials will oxidise in this way given time.
Although autoxidation is usually undesirable, it has been exploited in chemical synthesis. In these cases the term 'autoxidation' is often used more broadly to include spontaneous reactions with oxygen at elevated temperatures, such as in the Cumene process.