COMMUNICATIONS TO THE EDITOR THE INITIAL ACT IN AUTO-OXIDATION
I n a recent paper in This Journal (J. Phys. Chem. 37, 209 (1933)), it might have been pointed out that the viewpoint of Staudinger and Lautenschlager (Ann. 488, 1 (1931)) is not regarded as conflicting with the general theory advanced by the writer. When oxygen adds to a C=C bond through pairing of the odd electrons of the oxygen molecule with two of the electrons from the double bond, it seems reasonable to suppose that, a t the instant of formation, the excess energy of the peroxide molecule would reside in these newly established electron pairs. The above authors attempt to represent this energy-rich molecule by an ordinary structural formula, showing one of the bonds acOually open.
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