The kinetics of deuteration of resorcinol in pure D2O were studied for the first time using a flow-through
capillary tubular reactor with on-line, proton, and deuterium NMR detection at high temperatures and high
pressure. The global rate constants for hydrogen/deuterium (H/D) exchange were determined from temperatures
of 200−450 °C (723 K) at a pressure of ∼400 bar (the critical temperature and pressure of water are 374.2
°C and 218.3 bar, respectively). The H/D exchange rate in resorcinol (1,3-dihydroxybenzene) under these
extreme conditions was determined using proton NMR as a function of the resorcinol residence time in a
capillary tubular reactor, which also served as a high-pressure NMR cell. The 1H and 2H NMR results indicate
that H/D exchange in resorcinol for the ring protons was observed at temperatures as low as 200 °C. The
kinetics of H/D exchange in resorcinol and the activation energy was extracted from the experimental 1H
NMR data.