Effect of solvent on the rate of oxidative polycondensation of 2,6-dimethylphenol☆

An investigation has been made of the effect of solvents, of differing dipole moments and dielectric constants, on the oxidative polycondensation of 2,6-dimethylphenol. No correlation is found between the index of polarizability of the solvents and the reaction rate. The reaction rate is found to depend on the oxidation-reduction potential of the reaction mixture and the donor-acceptor properties of the solvent.