Question

Reaction rate laws are frequently used to investigate reaction mechanisms. Would your results consistent with either or both of these mechanisms?

A) Single step bimolecular reaction between dye and NaClO.

B) slow unimolecular decomposition of the dye followed by a rapid electron transfer reaction with ClO ion.

My data showed that both the dye and ClO are first order and that when the concentration of ClO was cut in half, the k' value also decreased by 2.

Which mechanism is correct? Can you be certain that a mechanism is correct?

Answer 1

Reaction rate laws,

Reaction between dye and NaClO

showed first order kinetics with respect to both the dye and the NaClO reagent.

When the concentration of NaClO was reduced to half, the k' value also reduced to half.

Possible mechanism for the reaction thus would be,

A) single step bimolecular reaction between dye and NaClO

this satisfies the first-order kinetics with respect to botht eh reactants and also the reduction of k' by reducing NaClO concentration.