Kinetics and Mechanism of Ruthenium(III) Chloride Catalyzed Oxidation of Cinnamyl Alcohol by Thallium(III) in Acid Perchlorate Medium

Abstract

The reaction of ruthenium(III) chloride catalyzed oxidation of cinnamyl alcohol by thallium(III) has been studied in acid perchlorate medium. The stoichiometry of the reaction corresponds to the reaction:        ${\text{T}}{{{\text{l}}}^{{3 + }}} + {{{\text{C}}}_{6}}{{{\text{H}}}_{5}}{\text{CH}}{=} {\text{CH}}{-} {\text{C}}{{{\text{H}}}_{2}}{\text{OH}}~\;\xrightarrow{{{\text{RuC}}{{{\text{l}}}_{{\text{2}}}}}}\;{\text{T}}{{{\text{l}}}^{ + }} + {{{\text{C}}}_{6}}{{{\text{H}}}_{5}}{-} {\text{CH}}{=} {\text{CH}}{-} {\text{CHO}} + 2{{{\text{H}}}^{ + }}.$ The reaction exhibits first order dependence with respect to thallium(III) and catalyst, whereas variable order is indicated with respect to alcohol. A plausible reaction mechanism has been suggested and the derived rate law accounts for experimental observations. An uncatalyzed path has also been indicated.