Osmium (VIII)-mediated oxidation of arsenic (III)/antimony (III) by 1-equivalent oxidants

Os(VIII) catalysis of oxidation of As(III)/Sb(III) by 1-equivalent oxidants like Ce(IV) and Mn(III) in acid medium is studied. A multistep mechanism involving the intervention of the intermediate oxidation states of osmium is found to apply. Specific rates of different steps in the mechanism are estimated and used to calculate reaction rates which are in reasonable agreement with those of experiment.