Electrode Kinetics and Complex Formation of [Zn‐Antibiotics‐Cephalothin] System vis a vis Kinetics of Electrode Reactions

Charge transfer reactions between a dropping mercury electrode and a Mn‐antibiotics‐cephalothin] system were studied at pH = 7.30 ± 0.01, μ = 1.0 MNaClO₄ at 298 K. The antibiotics were doxycycline, chlortetracycline, oxytetracycline, tetracycline, minocycline, amoxicillin and chloramphenicol used as primary ligands and cephalothin as secondary ligand formed 1:1:1, 1:1:2 and 1:2:1 complexes with Zn². Electrode kinetics was discussed on the basis of kinetic parameters viz. transfer coefficient (α), degree of irreversibility (λ), diffusion coefficient (D) and rate constant (k). The values of α varied from 0.40 to 0.57 (0.50) confirm that ‘transition state’ behaves between reactant and product response to applied potential and it lies always between d.m.e. and solution interface. A small variation in potential affects the rate and rate constant greatly.