Kinetics and Mechanism of Oxidation of Pinacol by Pyridinium Chlorochromate

Department of Chemistry, Dr. H. S. Gour Vishwavidyalaya, Sagar-470 003 Manuscript received 21 July 1989, revised 6 March 1990, accepted. 21 November 1990 The oxidation of pinacol·(2,3-dimethyl·2,3-butanediol) by pyridinium chlorochromate (pcc) in nitrobenzene-dichloromethane solution have been examined kinetically. The reaction is of first order with respect to (pcc) and [pinacol]. The rate of reaction decrease with increasing proportion of nitrobenzene in solution. The intluence of ionic strength could not be carried out because of non aqueous medium. The data show that two molecules of acetone is formed from per molecule of pcc The reaction is found to be acid-catalysed. The hydride ion transfer mechanism is suggested