Chemistry Reference
In-Depth Information
characterized by evolutions of carbon monoxide and various aromatic compounds, like toluene,
benzoic acid, and terephthalic acid. The first step can be shown as follows [
506
]:
O
O
O
O
Δ
O
O
+
OH
O
The subsequent decomposition, shown below, can actually take place at lower temperatures:
O
H
O
O
O
H
O
+
O
There are indications that there is moisture among the decomposition products. This may imply
that acid hydrolysis plays a part in tetrahydrofuran formation:
O
O
H
2
O
O
OH
2
+
H
O
-H
O
OH
At higher temperatures, the reaction path involves elimination of 1,3-butadiene [
506
,
507
];
O
O
O
OH
+
