The kinetics and mechanism of the catalysis by ammonium hydrogen carbonate oxidation of methyl phenyl sulfide with hydrogen peroxide has been investigated. Using the classical pseudo-phase model of micellar catalysis, the basic parameters of the catalytic process have been determined: the binding constants of H 2 O 2 , the HCO 4 − anion, and the substrate to the surface of the micelles, and also the second order rate constants for the oxidation of methyl phenyl sulfide in the micellar phase.There is considerable interest in systems based on hydrogen peroxide in the development of universal systems of oxidative nucleophilic action for the decomposition of ecotoxicant substrates [1,2]. This reagent is an a-nucleophile (HOO -) which can be used for the destruction of nerve paralytic toxins [2] and also as a mild oxidant (H 2 O 2 ) for the decomposition of mustard gas and its analogs. These processes are accelerated considerable by the introduction of activators into hydrogen peroxide [3].The hydrogen carbonate catalyzed oxidation of organic sulfides in water and aqueous ethanolic media has been studied previously [4]. It was established that a co-solvent (ethylene glycol, isopropanol, tert-butanol) solved the problem the solubility of the substrate and at the same time led to a decelerated both the catalytic (H 2 O 2 /HCO 3 − ) and non-catalytic (H 2 O 2 ) processes.Consequently aqueous solutions of surface-active substances [5], which on the one hand effectively solubilize the substrate and on the other hand increase the rate as a result of concentration of the reagents on the micellar surface can be examines as and alternative to aqueous alcoholic mixtures.In this work we have studied the kinetic laws of the oxidation of methyl phenyl sulfide (MPS) with hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) and the hydrogen peroxocarbonate anion (HCO 4 − ) in aqueous solutions of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB).Methyl phenyl sulfide is a model analog for mustard gas both in its hydrophobic properties and reactivity [4]. The micelle forming CTAB is used because cationic detergents are effective catalysts for nucleophilic substitution [6] and oxidation reactions [5].
EXPERIMENTAL35% Aqueous hydrogen peroxide (chemically pure), ammonium hydrogen carbonate (chemically pure), sodium hydrogen phosphate Na 2 HPO 4 ×12H 2 O (chemically pure), CTAB (Merck), recrystallized from an ethanol : ether mixture (1 : 10), and MPS, synthesized by a known method [5], were used in this work.