Kinetic Modeling of API Oxidation: 1. The AIBN/H2O/CH3OH Radical "Soup"

While different flavors of API stress testing systems have been used in experimental investigations for decades, the detailed kinetics of such systems as well as the chemical composition of prominent reactive species, specifically reactive oxygen species, are unknown.<br>As a first step toward understanding and modeling API oxidation in stress testing, we investigated a typical radical "soup" solution an API is subject to during stress testing.<br>Here we applied ab-initio electronic structure calculations to automatically generate and refine a detailed chemical kinetics model, taking a fresh look at API oxidation.<br>We generated a detailed kinetic model for a representative azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN)/H₂O/CH₃OH stress-testing system with varied co-solvent ratio (50%/50% -- 99.5%/0.5% vol. water/methanol) and for representative pH values (4--10) at 40oC stirred and open to the atmosphere.<br>At acidic conditions hydroxymethyl alkoxyl is the dominant alkoxyl radical, and at basic conditions, for most studied initial methanol concentrations, cyanoisopropyl alkoxyl becomes the dominant alkoxyl radical, albeit at an overall lower concentration.<br>At acidic conditions the levels of cyanoisopropyl peroxyl, hydroxymethyl peroxyl, and hydroperoxyl radicals are relatively high and comparable, while at both neutral and basic pH conditions, superoxide becomes the prominent radical in the system.<br>The present work reveals the prominent species in a common model API stress testing system at various co-solvent and pH conditions, sets the stage for an in-depth quantitative API kinetic study, and demonstrates usage of novel software tools for automated chemical kinetic model generation and ab-initio refinement.