Influence of iron oxides on thermal stability of tert-butyl peroxybenzoate

Tert-butyl peroxybenzoate (TBPB), a common C-type organic peroxide (OP), is widely used in numerous fields of industrial production. The presence of impurities has been identified as a factor affecting the thermal stability of OPs, heightening the interest in OPs and their reactivity. This study scrutinized the thermal decomposition effect of various iron oxides (Fe₂O₃, FeO, and Fe₃O₄) on TBPB by simultaneous thermal analyzer (STA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The data from the experiments formed a sound linear fit, and the thermokinetic parameters of TBPB under the action of the samples with iron oxides, were calculated. The apparent activation energy obtained by the Kissinger and Flynn-Wall-Ozawa methods agreed that iron oxides attenuated the thermal stability of TBPB. FTIR was used to analyze changes in the characteristic peaks of the product, and possible reaction paths were calculated by Gaussian software from the molecular structure perspective. The reaction heat and energy barrier values were calculated to evaluate the effect of iron oxides on the decomposition pathways of TBPB. The results provided valuable reference values that can help prevent unintended combustion and explosion. In addition, the findings informed process safety engineers to properly select materials while manufacturing safety and containment equipment.