Oxidation of thioacids by quinaldinium fluorochromate

The kinetics of oxidation of thioglycolic, thiolactic and thiomalic acids by quinaldinium fluorochromate [QnFC] has been studied in non aqueous medium. The oxidation kinetics was followed spectrophotometrically in the temperature range of 30–60 °C. The reaction shows unit order dependence each with respect to substrate and oxidant. The reaction is catalysed by hydrogen ions. The hydrogen ion dependence takes the form kobs = a + b [H+]. The reaction rate decreases with increasing the concentration of Mn2+ ions. The reaction does not induce polymerization of acrylonitrile. A plausible mechanism has been proposed for the formation of a thioester and its decomposition which occur in the slow step.