KINETICS OF AN INTERFACIAL REACTION - HYDROXIDE ION CATALYZED C-ALKYLATION OF PHENYLACETONITRILE

This work studies the kinetics of a reaction known to occur in the liq uid-liquid interfacial monolayer: the butylation of phenylacetonitrile with 1-bromobutane in the presence of aqueous sodium hydroxide. The r eaction is conducted at a flat liquid-liquid interface in the absence of a phase-transfer catalyst. Effects of various operating parameters, such as temperature, impeller speed, interfacial area, concentration of the anions in the aqueous phase, and mole ratio of the reactants, o n the rate of the reaction have been studied. The evidence gathered in this study further supports the interfacial reaction hypothesis. A mo del for the kinetics of the reaction is proposed. Interfacial concentr ations of the reactants required for estimating the intrinsic interfac ial rate constant have been determined from their bulk concentration t hrough the application of the interfacial adsorption isotherm. The par ameters of the isotherm are determined through interfacial tension mea surements. The proposed model is shown to fit the experimental data sa tisfactorially.