Reactions of nitrotoluenes with sodimn sulphide :Phase transfer catalysis and role of Ω phase

276-279The reactions of nitrotoluenes (o-,m- and p-) with sodium sulphide were carried out both in the liquid-liquid and solid liquid modes with phase transfer catalyst, tetrabutylammonium bro mide (TBAB). In the liquid- liquid mode, the reactions of all three nitrotoluenes were found to be kinetically controlled with activation energy values of 4.71×104, 5.25×104 and 3.92×104 kJ mol-1 with o-,m- and p-nitrotoluenes respectively as the organic substrates. In solid-liquid mode, the reactions of o- and p-nitrotoluenes were kinetically controlled whereas that of m-nitrotoluene was found to be mass transfer controlled with an activation energy of 1.16×104 kJ mol-1. The effect of Ω phase on the rate of solid-liquid reaction was also studied and a maximum six-fold enhancement in rate was observed with m-nitrotoluene as the organic substrate