Ruthenium(III) Catalysed Oxidation of L-Alanine by Alkaline Permanganate: A Kinetic and Mechanistic Approach

Potassium permanganate is widely used as an oxidising agent in synthetic as well as in analytical chemistry, and also as a disinfectant. The permanganate reactions are governed by the pH of the medium. Among the six oxidation states of manganese (+2 to+ 7), permanganate, Mn(VII) is the most potent oxidation state in acid as well as in alkaline medium. The manganese chemistry involved in these multistep redox reactions provides an important source of information as the manganese intermediates are relatively easy to identify when they have sufficiently long life times. 0xidation states of the intermediates permit useful conclusions to be drawn as to the possible reaction mechanism, including the nature of intermediates. Oxidation by permanganate ion is applied extensively in organic syntheses [1-7] especially since the advent of phase transfer catalysis [3,4,6]. Kinetic studies are important Inorganic Reaction Mechanisims, Vol. 5, pp. 231-244 © 2005 Old City Publishing, Inc. Reprints available directly from the publisher Published by license under the OCP Science imprint, Photocopying permitted by license only a member of the Old City Publishing Group.