Oxidation of 2-acetoxytoluene with ozone in acetic anhydride

Kinetics and mechanism of the reaction of ozone with 2-acetoxytoluene in acetic anhydride in the presence of sulfuric acid were studied. It was shown that the prevailing reaction route under these conditions is ozonolysis (89%), and the selectivity of the oxidation of the substrate by the methyl group is no higher 9%. However, in the presence of manganese(II) sulfate as a catalyst, the selectivity increases to 76%. The major reaction products were 2-acetoxybenzyl acetate (59%) and 2-acetoxybenzylidene diacetate (17%). In the presence of a manganese bromide catalyst, the oxidation depth increases, and the major reaction product is already 2-acetoxybenzylidene (66%), while the yield of 2-acetoxybenzyl acetate is 15%. The mechanism of the redox catalysis is considered, that explains the experimental results.