Kinetics and mechanism of acid-catalyzed decomposition of triazenes in aqueous ethanolic solutions

The kinetics and nature of the end products of the acid decomposition of triazenes (R-N=N-NHR, where R is aryl, and R is aryl or alkyl) in aqueous ethanolic solutions of varying composition have been studied. A hydrolysis mechanism which includes protonation of the triazene molecule (R-N+H=NH-R), formation of an _N-transition stafte (R-N=N-N+H₂-R), and dissociation of this state has been proposed to explain the literature data and the opposite ionic effects observed in the present study. This mechanism explains the roles of the acid anion and the water molecule in the hydrolysis of triazenes. An analytical expression has been obtained from the hydrolysis constant which agrees with the experimental results.Translated from Teoreticheskaya i Éksperimental'naya Khimiya, Vol. 29, No. 1, pp. 23–30, January–February, 1993.