The features of the kinetics of radical reactions of quinone imines with 2-mercaptobenzothiazole

Kinetics of the reactions of N-phenyl-1,4-benzoquinone monoimine and N,N′-diphenyl-1,4-benzoquinone diimine with 2-mercaptobenzothiazole in chlorobenzene at T = 343 K has been studied by using kinetical spectrophotometry method (periodic spectral measurements and/or monitoring the wavelengths of the absorption band of quinone imines in the visible region). Two general features of the reactions, namely, radical mechanism and the existence of two steps were found. Kinetic features depend on the structure of a quinone imine. A reaction between N,N′-diphenyl-1,4-benzoquinone diimine and 2-mercaptobenzothiazole at first (initial) steps proceeds in an autoinhibition mode and has two independent channels, one of which being radical-chain. The addition of an initiator strongly accelerates the reaction only at the initial step, on completion of which the reaction rate decreases significantly and do not depend on the presence of the initiator. This testifies to the proceeding of the reaction by a non-chain mechanism subsequently to the initial step. The interaction involving N-phenyl-1,4-benzoquinone monoimine proceeds by a radical non-chain mechanism from the very beginning up to the end, and at the initial steps it proceeds in the autoaccelerating mode. The initiator has no influence on the reaction rate. For the process of the interaction of N,N′-diphenyl-1,4-benzoquinone monoimine and 2-mercaptobenzothiazole in the presence of 4-hydroxydiphenylamine, a radical mechanism was proposed, that serves to describe the kinetic features of the reaction and to obtain a quantitative estimation of some of its kinetic parameters.