Ultrasound is shown to increase the rate of the TEMPO-mediated oxidation of
methyl alpha-D-glucopyranoside or sucrose in the presence of stoichiometri
c amounts of sodium hypochlorite in basic aqueous medium. The reaction can
then occur without the usually necessary sodium bromide, showing that ultra
sound acts at the level of the formation of the nitrosonium ion, the active
oxidizing species in the catalytic cycle. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. A
ll rights reserved.