Kinetics and mechanism of oxidation arylhydrazides by hexacyanoferrate(III) in alkaline medium

717-719The kinetics of oxidation of a series of arylhydrazides, X-Ph.CO.NH.NH2 (X=H, p-Cl, p-CH3 and o-NO2) by alkaline hexacyanoferrate(III) have been investigated. The reactions are first order each in [oxidant] and [substrate] and fractional order in [OH-]. The effects of added hexacyanoferrate(II) and other ions on the rate of oxidation have been investigated. The kinetics reveal a pronounced positive salt effect as well as specific ion effect. The temperature and solvent effects have also been studied. A suitable mechanism and a rate law consistent with the experimental results have been proposed