Kinetics of the Hydrolysis of Diethyl Acetal Catalyzed by Iron(III) in Aqueous Solution

The catalytic activity of iron(III) on the hydrolysis of diethyl acetal was investigated in aqueous solutions. The reaction rate was followed dilatometrically. The reaction is of the first order with respect to acetal concentration, the rate constant being expressed byK_app=k_o+k_H[H^+]+k_Fe[Fe]. The respective rate constants are k0=1.30×10−4 s−1, kH=1.28 M−1 s−1, and kFe=1.86 M−1 s−1 at an ionic strengt μ=0.2 M and 25 °C. A tentative reaction scheme for iron(III) catalysis was proposed.