Kinetics and Mechanism of Oxidation of Glycolic Acid by Hexamethylenetetramine-Bromine in Glacial Acetic Acid Medium

Abstract

The kinetics of oxidation of glycolic acid by hexamethylenetetramine bromine (HABR) has been studied. The reaction follows second-order kinetics, first-order with respect to each reactant. Glycolic acid is oxidized to give glyoxylic acid. Analysis of the solvent effect indicates that the cat ion solvating power of the solvents plays major role in the reaction rate. The rate of the reaction increases with increasing in concentration of glycolic acid and HABR. Temperature influence is quite marked in all these reactions. And activation parameters have been determined. The effect of temperature was explained by application of Arrhenius equation and transition state theory, a mechanism for the reaction was proposed based on the experimental observation. It involves the formation of a activated complex, which decomposes to give the product. Keywords: Spectroscopy, Kinetics, Activation Energy