Kinetics and mechanism of Ru(III)-catalyzed oxidation of aliphatic alcohols by trichloroisocyanuric acid in HClO4 medium

The kinetics and mechanism of Ru(III)-catalyzed oxidation of some aliphatic alcohols by trichloroisocyanuric acid (TCICA) has been studied in aqueous HOAc-HClO₄ medium. The reaction is zero order in [TCICA], fractional order in [alcohol] and first order in [Ru(III)]. The reaction is insensitive towards changes in acid concentration. The rate is not affected by an increase in [Cl⁻]. The polar reaction constant (ρ*) was found to be −1.27 at 308 K. A mechanism involving complex formation between the substrate and catalyst in the fast equilibrium step followed by its decomposition in a slow step is proposed.