Micellar effect on the kinetics of oxidation of methyl blue by Ce(IV) in sulfuric acid medium

The kinetics of oxidation of methyl blue (MB) by Ce(IV) in aqueous and surfactant media has been carried out to explore the micellar effect on the rate and kinetic parameters of the reaction. The reaction was found to be first order with respect to both oxidant and substrate and fractional order with respect to H+. The active kinetic species of the oxidant was found to be Ce(SO4)+2 based on the effect of ionic strength and sulfate ion on the rate of the reaction. The presence of micelles was found to inhibit the reaction and this effect has been explained by the association of one of the reactants with the micelles leaving the other reactant in the bulk solution. The binding constant and first order rate constant in micellar medium has been obtained by the application of pseudo-phase model to the experimental data. Interestingly, the temperature dependence of the reaction reveals that the reaction has negative activation energy in the absence of micelles, which turns to a positive value in the presence of micelles.