The solvent effects in the reactions of carboxylic acids with oxiranes. 1. Kinetics of the reaction of acetic acid with epichlorohydrin in butan‐1‐ol

Kinetics of the reaction of acetic acid with epichlorohydrin in the presence of chromium(III) acetate in butan‐1‐ol solution have been studied. The partial reaction orders with respect to reagents were found. The reactions were of first‐order with respect to both epichlorohydrin and catalyst and zeroth order with respect to acetic acid. A kinetic model for the overall process has been proposed. The reaction constants have been calculated along with the activation parameters. The effect of dilution on the rate of addition is discussed. In the equimolar mixture of acetic acid and epichlorohydrin the apparent rate constant of the addition k₁ initially decreases to increase again at the concentration of butan‐1‐ol exceeding 3 M. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J Chem Kinet 32: 378–387, 2000