| Abstract: | Insoluble microporous polystyrene-bound benzyltriethyl ammonium chloride has been used as a catalyst in the alkylation of phenylacetone with 1-bromobutane, and the kinetics of this reaction was investigated under phase-transfer catalytic conditions. The observed reaction rates depend on many experimental parameters, viz., stirring speed, substrate amount, basicity of aqueous NaOH, amount of 1-bromobutane, temperature, order of addition of the reactants and particle size, percent active site, and percent crosslinking of the polymer. The rates are nearly 12 times higher at lower concentrations of base than at higher concentrations and do not vary appreciably with a variation in stirring speed from 200 to 700 rpm. The rate of alkylation increases with a decrease in the particle size of the catalyst and crosslinking of the polymer. Based on the results obtained, a suitable mechanism in which a combination of intraparticle diffusion and intrinsic reactivity limit the reaction rates has been proposed. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. |
