The kinetics and mechanism of the interaction between 2,3-dichloro-5,6-dicyano-1,4-benzoquinone (DDQ) and dextromethorphan and atenolol drugs has been investigated spectroscopically. In the presence of large excess of donor drug, the 1:1 charge transfer (CT) complex is transformed into a final product, which has been isolated and characterized by using FT-IR and GC-MS techniques. The rate of formation of product has been measured as a function of time in different solvents at three temperatures. The thermodynamic parameters, viz. activation energy, enthalpy, entropy, and free energy of activation were computed from temperature dependence of rate constants. On the basis of the spectrokinetic results, a plausible mechanism for the formation of the CT complex and its transformation into final product is presented and discussed. Cyclic voltammetric study supports the observed solvent effect on the extent of CT complexation and the rate with which it is converted into the product. C 2008