Oxidation of Phenol by Quinolinium Chlorochromate in Aqueous Acetic Acid Medium

Abstract

The kinetics of oxidation of Phenol by quinolinium Chlorochromate (QCC) in aqueous acetic acid leads to the formation of quinone. The reaction is first order with respect to both aniline and QCC and is catalyzed by hydrogen ion. The hydrogen-ion dependence has the form: kobs = a+b [H+]. The rate of oxidation decreases with increasing dielectric constant of solvent, indicating the presence of an ion-dipole interaction. The reaction does not induced the polymerization of acrylonitrile. The retardation of the rate by the addition of Mn2+ ions confirms that a two electron transfer process is involved in the reaction. The reaction rates have been determined at different temperatures and the activation parameters have been calculated. From the above observation kinetic results a suitable mechanism has been proposed.