Patent ID: 7439277

Claim:
A method for the preparation of a hydroperoxide functionalized rubber compound comprising: (a) providing a reactor containing a catalyst bed comprising a light-induced photoreductant component supported on a particulate substrate forming a permeable catalyst bed; (b) introducing into said reactor a dispersion of an unsaturated rubber component in a carrier solvent and passing said dispersion through said catalyst bed; (c) concomitantly with subparagraph (b), passing a gaseous oxidizing agent into said reactor and flowing said oxidizing agent through said catalyst bed and into contact with said rubber-containing dispersion; (d) irradiating said catalyst bed containing said dispersion and said oxidant with electromagnetic radiation in the ultraviolet or visible light range at an intensity sufficient to convert triplet oxygen in the oxygenated rubber component to singlet oxygen and recovering said oxygenated rubber compound from said reactor; and (e) passing the dispersion of rubber-containing carrier and the gaseous oxidizing agent into a second reactor connected in parallel with said first reactor and containing a second catalyst bed comprising a light-induced photoreactant supported on a particulate substrate material forming a second permeable catalyst bed and irradiating said catalyst bed containing said dispersion and said oxidizing agent with electromagnetic radiation in the ultraviolet or visible light range at an intensity sufficient to convert triplet oxygen in the oxygenated rubber component to singlet oxygen and recovering said oxygenated rubber compound from said second reactor and combining said compound with the compound recovered from said first reactor.