organic compound
Some chemical authorities define an organic compound as a chemical compound that contains a carbon–hydrogen or carbon–carbon bond; others consider an organic compound to be any chemical compound that contains carbon. For example, carbon-co ...
consisting of a
peroxide
In chemistry, peroxides are a group of Chemical compound, compounds with the structure , where the R's represent a radical (a portion of a complete molecule; not necessarily a free radical) and O's are single oxygen atoms. Oxygen atoms are joined ...
group bonded to two
tert-butyl
In organic chemistry, butyl is a four-carbon alkyl radical or substituent group with general chemical formula , derived from either of the two isomers (''n''-butane and isobutane) of butane.
The isomer ''n''-butane can connect in two ways, giv ...
groups. It is one of the most stable
organic peroxide
In organic chemistry, organic peroxides are organic compounds containing the peroxide functional group (). If the R′ is hydrogen, the compounds are called hydroperoxides, which are discussed in that article. The O−O bond of peroxides easily b ...
s, due to the ''tert''-butyl groups being bulky. It is a colorless liquid.
Reactions
The peroxide bond undergoes homolysis at temperatures above 100 °C. For this reason di-''tert''-butyl peroxide is commonly used as a
radical initiator
In chemistry, radical initiators are substances that can produce radical species under mild conditions and promote radical reactions. These substances generally possess weak bonds—bonds that have small bond dissociation energies. Radical in ...
in organic synthesis and polymer chemistry. The
decomposition reaction
Chemical decomposition, or chemical breakdown, is the process or effect of simplifying a single molecular entity, chemical entity (normal molecule, reaction intermediate, etc.) into two or more fragments. Chemical decomposition is usually regarded ...
proceeds via the generation of methyl radicals.
:(CH3)3COOC(CH3)3 → 2 (CH3)3CO•
:(CH3)3CO• → (CH3)2CO +
:2 → C2H6
DTBP can in principle be used in engines where
oxygen
Oxygen is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group (periodic table), group in the periodic table, a highly reactivity (chemistry), reactive nonmetal (chemistry), non ...
is limited, since the molecule supplies both the oxidizer and the fuel.
Safety
DTBP is an irritant to the nose, eyes, and skin. It is also flammable, and can explode unpredictably at high (≈150 °C) temperatures.Sime, Rodney J. (13 June 1988). "Di-''tert''-butyl peroxide" (letter to the editor), in ''
Chemical & Engineering News
''Chemical & Engineering News'' (''C&EN'') is a weekly news magazine published by the American Chemical Society (ACS), providing professional and technical news and analysis in the fields of chemistry and chemical engineering.''tert''-Butyl hydroperoxide
* Bis(trimethylsilyl) peroxide