Oxidation of phenols with chlorine dioxide

The oxidation of different phenols, viz., phenol, 3-methylphenol, 4-methylphenol, 4-tert-butylphenol, 2-cyclohexylphenol, 2,6-di-tert-butyl-4-methylphenol, and 2,4-dichlorophenol, with chlorine dioxide in acetonitrile was studied spectrophotometrically. The reaction rate is described by a second-order equation w = kPhOH]· ClO₂]. The rate constants were measured and activation parameters of oxidation were determined in a temperature interval of 10–60°C. A dependence of the reaction rate constant on the phenol structure was found. The oxidation products were identified, and their yields were established.__________Published in Russian in Izvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 10, pp. 2184–2187, October, 2004.