Oxidation of 2-methyl-1-naphthol (MNL) with molecular oxygen proceeds efficiently under mild reaction conditions (3 atm O(2), 60-80 degrees C) in the absence of any catalyst or sensitizer and produces 2-methyl-1,4-naphthoquinone (MNQ, menadione, or vitamin K(3)) with selectivity up to 80% in nonpolar solvents. (1)H NMR and (1)H,(1)H-COSY studies revealed the formation of 2-methyl-4-hydroperoxynaphthalene-1(4H)-one (HP) during the reaction course. Several mechanistic hypotheses, including conventional radical autoxidation, electron transfer mechanisms, photooxygenation, and thermal intersystem crossing (ISC), have been evaluated using spectroscopic, mass-spectrometric, spin-trapping, (18)O(2) labeling, kinetic, and computational techniques. Several facts collectively implicate contributes significantly into MNL oxidation with O(2) at elevated pressure: (i) the reaction rate is unaffected by light; (ii) C-C-coupling dimers are practically absent; (iii) the reaction is first order in both MNL and O(2); (iv) the observed activation parameters (Delta H(double dagger) = 8.1 kcal mol(-1) and Delta S(double dagger) = -50 eu) are similar to those found for the spin-forbidden oxidation of helianthrene with (3)O(2) (Seip, M.; Brauer, H.-D. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1992, 114, 4486); and (v) the external heavy atom effect (2-fold increase of the reaction rate in iodobenzene) points to spin inversion in the rate-limiting step.