Kinetics and Mechanism of Oxidation of Hydroquinone by Tetrabutylammonium Tribromide Ion in Aqueous Acetic Acid

The oxidation of hydroquinone by environmentally benign tetrabutyl ammonium tribromide (TBATB) was carried out in 50% V/V aqueous acetic acid medium under pseudo-first-order conditions, keeping a large excess of hydroquinone over the oxidant. The main reactive species of oxidant and substrate were found to be the \(\mathrm{Br}_{3}^{-}\) ion and hydroquinone, respectively. The reaction proceeds with prior complex formation between the reactants followed by its slow decomposition to generate semiquinone and bromine radicals. The complex formation was kinetically verified by its Michaelis–Menten plot. The solvent effect was verified by using Grunwald–Winstein equation which is consistent with an SN2 mechanism. The formation constants for the complex and rate constant for the slow decomposition step were determined by studying the reaction at five different temperatures. The values of formation constant of the complex and the rate constant for its decomposition were determined at these temperatures. The activation parameters with respect to the slow step of the reaction have also been determined.