Oxidation of some monosaccharides by hexavalent manganese in aqueous alkaline medium: A kinetic and mechanistic study

The kinetics of oxidation of some monosaccharides viz., D-ribose, D-xylose, and D-arabinose, D-glucose, D-fructose, D-galactose, 2-deoxyglucose, and α-methyl glucopyranoside by MnO₄^2? in aqueous alkaline medium have been studied. The rate of oxidation has been found to be first-order both with respect to [oxidant] and [sugar]. The rate is independent of [OH^?] under experimental conditions of [OH^?] > 0.5 M where the oxidant is stable. The effect of ionic strength is negligible on the rate. A mechanism involving the formation of a 5-membered cyclic intermediate complex between MnO₄^2? and 1,2-enediol form of the sugar is proposed. The intermediate complex decomposes to give products in the subsequent slow step. The involvement of 1,2-enediol form receives support from the reaction of α-methyl glucopyranoside, which exists in ring structure in alkaline solution reacting much slower than glucose with MnO₄^2? under similar conditions. Second-order rate constant k″ and activation parameters have been evaluated. The series of reactions exhibits a clear demonstration of applicability of isokinetic phenomenon where Arrhenius plots for all the reactions are found to intersect at a common point (295 K). © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.