title: Reductive dechlorination and degradation of mirex and kepone with Vitamin B12.
abstract: Vitamin B12s effects the reductive dechlorination of mirex (dechlorane) in protic solvent systems, under both catalytic and stoichiometric conditions, mainly to yield compounds of composition C10Cl12-nHn, with n = 1-8, in which the basic dihomocubane cage structure is retained; the formation of cage-opened, reductively dehalogenated derivatives of 4,7-methanoindene occurs only to a very minor extent. The corresponding reactions of kepone (chlordecone), in contrast, occur with predominant formation of indene derivatives. Under certain mild conditions, vitamin B12s induces a fragmentation of kepone leading to the destruction of the dihomocubane moiety and the formation of an isolable organocobalamin having a C3Cl3H2 residue attached to the cobalt atom. In strongly alkaline media, the reaction of kepone with vitamin B12s may in addition yield high-molecular-weight condensation products of unknown constitution. Reactions of this type are of interest as prototypes of soil-decontamination processes.
mesh_terms: D055598:Chemical Phenomena; D002621:Chemistry; D007631:Chlordecone; D002713:Chlorine; D007306:Insecticides; D008917:Mirex; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D013053:Spectrophotometry; D014805:Vitamin B 12
chemical_list: D007306:Insecticides; D002713:Chlorine; D014805:Vitamin B 12; D007631:Chlordecone; D008917:Mirex