Chlorine dioxide-facilitated oxidation of the azo dye amaranth

The oxidation reaction of amaranth (trisodium 2-hydroxy-1-(4-sulfonato-1-naphthylazo)naphthalene-3,6-disulfonate or AM(-)) by chlorine dioxide (ClO(2)) in aqueous conditions was investigated in detail. The major reaction products immediately after decolorization of AM(-) were 1,2-naphthoquinone disulfonate sodium salt and 1,4-napthalenedione. The reaction had first-order dependence on both AM(-) and ClO(2). The rate-limiting step involved the reaction between AM(-) and OH(-) ions. The role of hydroxide ion as a catalyst was established. The second-order rate constant increased with pH, from (19.8 ± 0.9) M(-1) s(-1) at pH 7.0, (97.1 ± 2.3) M(-1) s(-1) at pH 8.0 to (132.5 ± 2.8) M(-1) s(-1) at pH 9.0. In the pH range of 6.0-7.5, the catalytic constant for OH(-) ion was 4.0 × 10(9) M(-2) s(-1). The energy and entropy of activation values for the reaction were 50.0 kJ mol(-1) and -658.7 J K(-1) mol(-1), respectively. A probable reaction mechanism was elucidated and was validated by simulations.