Electrooxidation of Formamidine Disulfide Simultaneously Investigated by On-Line High Performance Liquid Chromatography and Cyclic Voltammetry

The electro-oxidation of formamidine disulfide, an important sulfur-containing compound, was simultaneously investigated with on-line high-performance liquid chromatography and cyclic voltammetry. Using a home-made microporous sampler located at the electrode interface, the solution on the electrode surface was in situ sampled and analyzed. The electrochemical scanning was synchronously performed, which allowed the electro-oxidation products to be detected at a given potential. The main products on the surface of platinum electrode were found to be thiourea, formamidine sulfinic acid, cyanamide, and elemental sulfur. Forced convection arising from the sampling played an important role in the electrochemical oxidation. The extraction of electrode surface solution promoted the renewal of reactant and its intermediates, which induced the change of cyclic voltammetry curve. The forced convection also contributed to the redox peak current of the species on the cyclic voltammetry curves through the change of concentration of reactant and its intermediates. This technique can help to explore the reaction mechanism of complex electrochemical reactions.

Oxidations at Sulfur Centers by Aqueous Hypochlorous Acid and Hypochlorite: Cl+ Versus O Atom Transfer

Sulfur-containing compounds are known to be susceptible to oxidation by aqueous HOCl, but the factors affecting the rates of these reactions are not well-established. Here we report on the kinetics of oxidation of thiosulfate, thiourea, thioglycolate, (methylthio)acetate, tetrathionate, dithiodiglycolate, and dithiodipropionate at 25 °C and 0.4 M ionic strength. These reactions obey the general rate law -d[OCl^-]/dt = (k_OCl^-[OCl^-] + k_HOCl[HOCl])[substrate] with some exceptions: tetrathionate and the two disulfides undergo rate-limiting hydrolysis at high pH, and dithiodiglycolate has an additional term in the rate law that is second order in [substrate]. The reactions of HOCl are believed to have a Cl⁺ transfer mechanism, and in the case of thiosulfate the rate of hydrolysis of the ClS₂O₃^- intermediate was determined. In the case of thiourea evidence was obtained for thiourea monoxide as a long-lived product. It is shown that sulfite and species with terminal sulfur atoms have k_HOCl values in the vicinity of 1 × 10⁹ M^-1 s^-1, while SCN^- and thioethers react somewhat more slowly; tetrathionate, trithionate, and disulfides react much more slowly. Comparison of the rate constants with those for oxidation of these sulfur substrates by H₂O₂ and [Pt(CN)₄Cl₂]^2- shows that HOCl reacts a few orders of magnitude more rapidly than [Pt(CN)₄Cl₂]^2- and ∼9 orders of magnitude more rapidly than H₂O₂. Many of the k_HOCl values are leveled by the high electrophilicity of HOCl. It is proposed that the k_OCl^- values correspond to oxygen-atom transfer mechanisms, as supported by LFERS (linear free energy relationships) relating these rate constants to those for reactions of H₂O₂ and [Pt(CN)₄Cl₂]^2-.

Oxyhalogen–Sulfur Chemistry: Oxidation of a Thiourea Dimer, Formamidine Disulfide, by Chlorine Dioxide

The oxidation of formamidine disulfide, FDS, the dimer of thiourea, by aqueous chlorine dioxide has been studied in highly acidic and mildly acidic media. FDS is one of the possible oxidation intermediates formed in the oxidation of thiourea by oxyhalogens to urea and sulfate. The reaction is exceedingly slow, giving urea and sulfate with a stoichiometric ratio of 5 : 14 FDS to chlorine dioxide after an incubation period of up to 72 h and only in highly acidic media which discourages the disproportionation of chlorine dioxide to the oxidatively inert chlorate. Mass spectrometric data suggest that the oxidative pathway proceeds predominantly through the sulfinic acid, proceeding next to the products sulfate and urea, while by-passing the sulfonic acid. Transient formation of the unstable sulfenic acid was also not observed.

Thermodynamic analysis of decomposition of thiourea and thiourea oxides

Thiourea has exhibited extremely rich dynamical behavior when being oxidized either through a chemical approach or via an electrochemical method. In this study, thermodynamic properties of thiourea and its oxides are investigated by measuring their thermogravimetry (TG), differential thermogravimetry (DTG), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) simultaneously. Online FT-IR measurements show that products of the thermal decomposition vary significantly with the reaction temperature. In addition to the determination of their apparent activation energy (E), preexponential factor (A), and entropy (DeltaS++), enthalpy (DeltaH++), and Gibbs energy (DeltaG++) of thermal decomposition, our investigation further illustrates that the decomposition kinetics of thiourea and thiourea oxides follows the Johnson-Mehl-Avrami Equation, f (alpha) = n(1 - alpha)[-ln(1 - alpha)](1-1/n) and G(alpha) = [-ln(1 - alpha)](1/n) with n equal to 2, 3.43, and 3, respectively.

Oxyhalogen−Sulfur Chemistry: Kinetics and Mechanism of Oxidation of N-Acetylthiourea by Chlorite and Chlorine Dioxide

The oxidation reactions of N-acetylthiourea (ACTU) by chlorite and chlorine dioxide were studied in slightly acidic media. The ACTU-ClO(2)(-) reaction has a complex dependence on acid with acid catalysis in pH > 2 followed by acid retardation in higher acid conditions. In excess chlorite conditions the reaction is characterized by a very short induction period followed by a sudden and rapid formation of chlorine dioxide and sulfate. In some ratios of oxidant to reductant mixtures, oligo-oscillatory formation of chlorine dioxide is observed. The stoichiometry of the reaction is 2:1, with a complete desulfurization of the ACTU thiocarbamide to produce the corresponding urea product: 2ClO(2)(-) + CH(3)CONH(NH(2))C=S + H(2)O --> CH(3)CONH(NH(2))C=O + SO(4)(2-) + 2Cl(-) + 2H(+) (A). The reaction of chlorine dioxide and ACTU is extremely rapid and autocatalytic. The stoichiometry of this reaction is 8ClO(2)(aq) + 5CH(3)CONH(NH(2))C=S + 9H(2)O --> 5CH(3)CONH(NH(2))C=O + 5SO(4)(2-) + 8Cl(-) + 18H(+) (B). The ACTU-ClO(2)(-) reaction shows a much stronger HOCl autocatalysis than that which has been observed with other oxychlorine-thiocarbamide reactions. The reaction of chlorine dioxide with ACTU involves the initial formation of an adduct which hydrolyses to eliminate an unstable oxychlorine intermediate HClO(2)(-) which then combines with another ClO(2) molecule to produce and accumulate ClO(2)(-). The oxidation of ACTU involves the successive oxidation of the sulfur center through the sulfenic and sulfinic acids. Oxidation of the sulfinic acid by chlorine dioxide proceeds directly to sulfate bypassing the sulfonic acid. Sulfonic acids are inert to further oxidation and are only oxidized to sulfate via an initial hydrolysis reaction to yield bisulfite, which is then rapidly oxidized. Chlorine dioxide production after the induction period is due to the reaction of the intermediate HOCl species with ClO(2)(-). Oligo-oscillatory behavior arises from the fact that reactions that form ClO(2) are comparable in magnitude to those that consume ClO(2), and hence the assertion of each set of reactions is based on availability of reagents that fuel them. A computer simulation study involving 30 elementary and composite reactions gave a good fit to the induction period observed in the formation of chlorine dioxide and in the autocatalytic consumption of ACTU in its oxidation by ClO(2).

Equilibrium and Redox Kinetics of Copper(II)-Thiourea Complexes

Stopped-flow spectrophotometric measurements identify and determine equilibrium data for thiourea (tu) complexes of copper(II) formed in aqueous solution. In excess Cu(II), the complex ion [Cu(tu)](2+) has a stability constant beta(1) = 2.3 +/- 0.1 M(-)(1) and molar absorptivity at 340 nm of epsilon(1) = (4.0 +/- 0.2) x 10(3) M(-)(1) cm(-)(1) at 25.0 degrees C, 2.48 mM HClO(4), and &mgr; = 464 mM (NaClO(4)). The fast reduction of Cu(II) by excess tu obeys the rate law -d[Cu(II)]/dt = k'[Cu(II)](2)[tu](7) with a value for the ninth-order rate constant k' = (1.60 +/- 0.18) x 10(14) M(-)(8) s(-)(1), which derives from a rate-determining step involving the bimolecular decomposition of two complexed Cu(II) species. Copper(II) catalyzes the reduction of hexachloroiridate(IV) by tu according to the rate law -d[IrCl(6)(2)(-)]/dt = (k(2,unc)[tu](2) + k(1,cat) [tu](5)[Cu(II)])[IrCl(6)(2)(-)]. Least-squares analysis yields values of k(2,unc) and k(1,cat) equaling 385 +/- 4 M(-)(2) s(-)(1) and (3.7 +/- 0.1) x 10(13) M(-)(6) s(-)(1), respectively, at &mgr; = 115 mM (NaClO(4)). The corresponding mechanism has a rate-determining step that involves the oxidation of [Cu(II)(tu)(5)](2+) by [IrCl(6)](2)(-) rather than the bimolecular reaction of two cupric-tu complexes.