Kinetics and mechanism of the oxidation of β-alanine by dihydroxydiperiodatoargentate(III) in an alkaline medium

The kinetics of the oxidation of β-alanine by dihydroxydiperiodatoargentate(III) (DPA) in an alkaline medium was studied by spectrophotometry in a temperature range of 298.2 K-318.2 K. The reaction rate showed pseudo-first order dependence in the oxidant and 1 < n_ap < 2 in the reductant. A plausible mechanism involving a pre-equilibrium of adduct formation between the complex and reductant is proposed. The rate equations derived from the mechanism explain all experimental observations. The activation parameters along with the rate constants of the rate-determining step were calculated.