Oxyhalogen–Sulfur Chemistry: Kinetics and Mechanism of Oxidation of Captopril by Acidified Bromate and Aqueous Bromine

Reactivity of unactivated peroxymonosulfate and peroxyacetic acid with thioether micropollutants: Mechanisms and rate prediction

Thioether compounds, prevalent in pharmaceuticals, are of growing environmental concern due to their prevalence and potential toxicity. Peroxy chemicals, including peroxymonosulfate (PMS) and peroxyacetic acid (PAA), hold promise for selectively attacking specific thioether moieties. Still, it has been unclear how chemical structures affect the interactions between thioethers and peroxy chemicals. This study addresses this knowledge gap by quantitatively assessing the relationship between the structure of thioethers and intrinsic reaction rates. First, the results highlighted the adverse impact of electron-withdrawing groups on reactivity. Theoretical calculations were employed to locate reactive sites and investigate structural characteristics, indicating a close relationship between thioether charge and reaction rate. Additionally, we established a SMILES-based model for rapidly predicting PMS reactivity with thioether compounds. With this model, we identified 147 thioether chemicals within the high production volume (HPV) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved drug lists that PMS could effectively eliminate with the toxicity (-lg LC50) decreasing. These findings underscore the environmental significance of thioether compounds and the potential for their selective removal by peroxides.

Specific-Ion Effects Unveil a Route for Modulating Oxidatively Triggered Acid Systems for Reservoir Applications

On-demand in situ preparation of industrially relevant organic acids, namely, methanesulfonic acid, triflic acid, and trifluoroacetic acid, is demonstrated in this study. Sodium and potassium bromate were found to selectively oxidize a series of ammonium salts NH₄X, where X = OMs, OTf, or OTFAc, with characteristic clock reaction behavior. The redox system undergoes rapid acid formation following an extended induction time at 150 °C and is identified as a potential candidate for high-temperature oil field chemistry applications where on-demand acid placement is required. Although the reaction kinetics for acid formation from NH₄X salts where X = Cl, Br, F, or SO₄^2- follows a pK_a trend, the rates of formation of the organic acids are much slower and deviate from this trend. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the rate of acid formation can be modulated by the addition of alkali metal salts, with the strongest effect observed from LiBr. Spectroscopic studies implicate the formation of lithium bromate ion pairs that slow or altogether inhibit the oxidation of NH₄⁺. Additionally, the presence of Br^- alters the reaction path, eliminating the clock behavior and creating a pathway for Li⁺ to strongly inhibit the redox reaction. From these studies, a method for slowing ammonium oxidation under reservoir conditions to sufficiently delay acid formation until the precursors are placed in the zone of interest is identified.

Bromate Oxidation of Ammonium Salts: In Situ Acid Formation for Reservoir Stimulation

A redox chemistry approach has been employed to synthesize an assortment of acids in the subterranean environment for the purpose of enhancing productivity from hydrocarbon-bearing rock formations. Experimental studies revealed that bromate selectively oxidizes a series of ammonium salts NH₄X where X = F^-, Cl^-, Br^-, SO₄^2-, and CF₃CO₂^- to produce 5-17 wt % HX. Importantly, the in situ method allows strategic placement of the acid in the zone of interest where the fluid is heated, and the reaction is triggered. Ammonium counteranions are shown to influence the kinetics of the bromate-ammonium reaction, and the conditions are tailored to promote oxidation of ammonium at reservoir temperatures. The reaction is observed to be acid-catalyzed, where the formation of bromous acid (HBrO₂) is involved in the rate-limiting step. As a result, an induction period that scales with the p K_a of the acid being formed is followed by rapid formation of the reaction products.

Kinetics and Mechanism of Oxidation of d-Penicillamine in Acidified Bromate and Aqueous Bromine

The oxidation of the biologically active compound d-penicillamine (Depen) by acidic bromate has been studied. The stoichiometry of the reaction is strictly 1 : 1, in which Depen is oxidized only as far as the sulfonic acid with no cleavage of the C–S bond to yield sulfate. Electrospray ionization spectroscopy shows that Depen is oxidized through addition of oxygen atoms on the sulfur centre to successively yield sulfenic and sulfinic acids before the product sulfonic acid. In conditions of excess Depen over the oxidant, sulfenic acid was not observed. Instead, nearly quantitative formation of the dimer was obtained. The dimer, which is the d-penicillamine disulfide species, was formed from a reaction of the putative highly electrophilic sulfenic acid with unreacted Depen in a condensation-type reaction and not through a radical-mediated pathway. Further oxidation of the dimer is slow because it is the most stable intermediate in the oxidation of Depen. In excess oxidant conditions, negligible dimer formation is observed. The reaction of bromine with Depen gives a stoichiometry of 3 : 1 with the same sulfonic acid product. This reaction is so fast that it is essentially diffusion controlled. Our stopped-flow instrument could not capture the oxidation by the first 2 moles of bromine, only the section of the reaction in which the sulfinic acid is oxidized to sulfonic acid.

Oxyhalogen-sulfur chemistry: kinetics and mechanism of oxidation of chemoprotectant, sodium 2-mercaptoethanesulfonate, MESNA, by acidic bromate and aqueous bromine

The oxidation of a well-known chemoprotectant in anticancer therapies, sodium 2-mercaptoethanesulfonate, MESNA, by acidic bromate and aqueous bromine was studied in acidic medium. Stoichiometry of the reaction is: BrO3(-) + HSCH2CH2SO3H → Br(-) + HO3SCH2CH2SO3H. In excess bromate conditions the stoichiometry was deduced to be: 6BrO3(-) + 5HSCH2CH2SO3H + 6H(+) → 3Br2 + 5HO3SCH2CH2SO3H + 3H2O. The direct reaction of bromine and MESNA gave a stoichiometric ratio of 3:1: 3Br2 + HSCH2CH2SO3H + 3H2O → HO3SCH2CH2SO3H + 6Br(-) + 6H(+). This direct reaction is very fast; within limits of the mixing time of the stopped-flow spectrophotometer and with a bimolecular rate constant of 1.95 ± 0.05 × 10(4) M(-1) s(-1). Despite the strong oxidizing agents utilized, there is no cleavage of the C-S bond and no sulfate production was detected. The ESI-MS data show that the reaction proceeds via a predominantly nonradical pathway of three consecutive 2-electron transfers on the sulfur center to obtain the product 1,2-ethanedisulfonic acid, a well-known medium for the delivery of psychotic drugs. Thiyl radicals were detected but the absence of autocatalytic kinetics indicated that the radical pathway was a minor oxidation route. ESI-MS data showed that the S-oxide, contrary to known behavior of organosulfur compounds, is much more stable than the sulfinic acid. In conditions where the oxidizing equivalents are limited to a 4-electron transfer to only the sulfinic acid, the products obtained are a mixture of the S-oxide and the sulfonic acid with negligible amounts of the sulfinic acid. It appears the S-oxide is the preferred conformation over the sulfenic acid since no sulfenic acids have ever been stabilized without bulky substituent groups. The overall reaction scheme could be described and modeled by a minimal network of 18 reactions in which the major oxidants are HOBr and Br2(aq).