Investigation of the oxidation of hydroquinone at the liquid/liquid interface

The oxidation of hydroquinone (QH2) was investigated for the first time at liquid/liquid (L/L) interface by scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM). In this study, electron transfer (ET) from QH2 in aqueous to ferrocene (Fc) in nitrobenzene (NB) was probed. The apparent heterogeneous rate constants for ET reactions were obtained by fitting the experimental approach curves to the theoretical values. The results showed that the rate constants for oxidation reaction of QH2 were sensitive to the changes of the driving force, which increased as the driving force increased. In addition, factors that would affect ET of QH2 were studied. Experimental results indicated ion situation around QH2 molecule could change the magnitude of the rate constants because the capability of oxidation of QH2 would be affected by them.