Oxidation of glycine and alanine by Oxone® catalysed by bromide ions has been studied in acidic medium. The reaction is initiated by the oxidation of bromide to bromine, which then reacts with the amino acid. The formation of bromine is supported by the spectrophotometric examination of the reaction mixture. The proposed intermediate involves a complex formation between bromine and the anion of the amino acid. The rate of the reaction is inhibited by an increase in the hydrogen ion concentration due to the protonation equilibria of the amino acids. A mechanism is proposed and the derived rate law was verified graphically. Effect of relative permittivity, ionic strength and temperature was also carried out and these effects are also in support of the mechanism proposed.
kinetics; Oxone®; bromide; catalysis; amino acids
