New Experimental and Mechanistic Investigation on the KSCN-H2O2-NaOH-Cu(II)-Catalyzed Oscillating System (Orban-Epstein Reaction): Inhibitory Effects by Diphenols

Abstract

The KSCN-H2O2-NaOH-Cu(II)-catalyzed system is one of the few reactions in which chemical oscillations can be observed in batch conditions. In the present paper, this oscillating reaction was revisited in a wide range of initial concentrations of all components in batch. A mixture with a long lasting oscillation time (1 h 34 min) and a great number of oscillations (24) was found and used to investigate the effect of temperature. An Arrhenius-type temperature dependence was observed from which an apparent average activation energy E-av = 76 +/- 5 kJ for the overall oscillatory reaction was observed. A mechanistic study based on a modified model analyzed by the stoichiometric network analysis approach gave a satisfactory agreement between calculated and experimental oscillating behaviors and temperature dependence. The addition of the three diphenols (catechol, resorcinol, and hydroquinone) causes perturbations similar to those observed in the Briggs-Rauscher oscillating system, i.e., an inhibition of the oscillatory regime. These inhibitory effects were described in detail, and a reasonable qualitative interpretation is given.