On a possible radical-cation mechanism of the biomimetic oxidation of the saturated hydrocarbon 1,3-dimethyladamantane in a Gif-type system containing a Fe2+ salt, picolinic acid, and pyridine

Based on an analysis of the ratio between the final products of the oxidation of 1,3-dimethyladamantane (1,3-DMA) with hydrogen peroxide under new catalytic conditions, an EPR-spectroscopic study of the 1,3-DMA radical cation under model radiation-chemical conditions, and the results of PM3 quantum-chemical calculations, a new mechanism was proposed for the biomimetic oxidation of the saturated hydrocarbon. This mechanism involves the intermediate formation of the 1,3-DMA radical cation, in which a tertiary C-H bond is selectively activated. Next, oxene (oxygen atom) is inserted into this C-H bond to form a tertiary alcohol. It was found that a comparison of the composition of final products in the oxidation of saturated hydrocarbons under conditions of a real chemical experiment with the structure and reactivity of their radical cations under model radiation-chemical conditions can be a methodologically new general technique for the analysis and prediction of the reactivity of saturated hydrocarbons under oxidative conditions.