Highly selective formation of tert-butyl hydroperoxide from the reaction of isobutane and O-2 in a zeolite under visible light

Isobutane and oxygen gas loaded into zeolite BaY react upon irradiation with green or blue light to yield tert-butyl hydroperoxide in a single-photon process. This was discovered when monitoring the reaction at room temperature in situ by FT-infrared spectroscopy. Selectivity was 98%, even upon conversion of more than half of the reactants loaded into the zeolite. Diffuse reflectance spectra revealed a visible absorption tail which originates from an isobutane . O-2 collision complex. It is attributed to the isobutane . O-2 contact charge-transfer absorption, whose onset is shifted from the UV into the visible region by the high electrostatic field of the zeolite.