Catalysis of reaction between ozone and 4-hydroxytoluene in acetic anhydride

Kinetics and products of 4-hydroxytoluene oxidation with ozone-air mixture in the presence of transition metal acetates as catalysts have been studied. Main steps of the catalytic series have been considered, and a mechanism of redox catalysis has been proposed which conforms to the experimental data and enables control over the direction, depth, and selectivity of the oxidation. Only manganese(II) acetate has been found to exhibit high catalytic activity in the presence of catalytic amounts of mineral acids. Manganese(II) acetate largely suppresses electrophilic reaction of ozone with the aromatic ring, so that the main reaction direction is oxidation of the methyl group with formation of 4-acetoxybenzyl acetate as the major product (62.6%) and 4-acetoxybenzylidene diacetate as a minor one (10.2%).