Chain ion molecular mechanism of ascorbic acid oxidation with hydrogen peroxide. Cu3+ ion as a chain carrier

The kinetics and mechanism of ascorbic acid (DH₂) oxidation have been studied under anaerobic conditions in the presence of Cu²⁺ ions. At 10^?4 ≤ Cu²⁺]₀ < 10^?3M, 10^?3 ≤ DH₂]₀ < 10^?2M, 10^?2 ≤ H₂O₂] ≤ 0.1M, 3 ≤ pH < 4, the following expression for the initial rate of ascorbic acid oxidation was obtained: where χ₂ (25°C) = (6.5 ± 0.6) × 10^?3 sec^?1. The effective activation energy is E₂ = 25 ± 1 kcal/mol. The chain mechanism of the reaction was established by addition of Cu⁺ acceptors (allyl alcohol and acetonitrile). The rate of the catalytic reaction is related to the rate of Cu⁺ initiation in the Cu²⁺ reaction with ascorbic acid by the expression where C is a function of pH and of H₂O₂ concentration. The rate equation where k₁(25°C) = (5.3 ± 1) × 10³M^?1 sec^?1 is true for the steady-state catalytic reaction. The Cu⁺ ion and a species, which undergoes acid–base and unimolecular conversions at the chain propagation step, are involved in quadratic chain termination. Ethanol and terbutanol do not affect the rate of the chain reaction at concentrations up to ≈0.3M. When the Cu²⁺–DH₂–H₂O₂ system is irradiated with UV light (λ = 313 nm), the rate of ascorbic acid oxidation increases by the value of the rate of the photochemical reaction in the absence of the catalyst. Hydroxyl radicals are not formed during the interaction of Cu⁺ with H₂O₂, and the chain mechanism of catalytic oxidation of ascorbic acid is quantitatively described by the following scheme. Initiation: Propagation: Termination: