Reactions of β-Dioxo Compounds with Hydrogen Peroxide at Low Temperatures

The paper presents the results obtained for the malonic aldehyde—hydrogen peroxide and β-oxobutanal—hydrogen peroxide systems. The systems were studied by IR spectroscopy in xenon matrices. The potential energy surfaces and vibrational spectra of the molecules that could occur in these systems were calculated quantum-chemically. As distinct from similar systems with monoaldehydes and α-dioxo compounds, the first stage of the reactions that occurred in the systems under consideration involved the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide with the formation of atomic oxygen, whose secondary reactions determined the set of reaction products.