The initial oxidative polymerization kinetics of 2,6-dimethylphenol with a Cu-EDTA complex in water

The initial oxidative polymerization kinetics of 2,6-dimethylphenol (DMP) catalyzed by a Cu(II)-EDTA complex in water was studied. The initial polymerization rate of DMP (R₀) increases with an increase in concentrations of DMP and catalyst. R₀ firstly increases with the molar ratio of N/Cu and then decreases. The reaction order with respect to oxygen is 0.1. R₀ increases with NaOH concentration and reaches its maximum value at a concentration of 0.50 mol/L. 1/R₀ is in direct proportion to 1/DMP]₀, which indicates that the initial polymerization kinetics of DMP in water obeys Michaelis-Menten model. The dissociation rate constant of the intermediate complex (k₂) and Michaelis-Menten constant (K_m) at various temperatures are calculated. It is found that both k₂ and K_m increase with an increase in temperature.