The chain mechanism of the reaction between 2,5-dimethyl-1,4-hydroquinone and N-phenyl-1,4-benzoquinonemonoimine

The kinetic characteristics of the reaction between N-phenyl-1,4-benzoquinonemonoimine and 2,5-dimethyl- 1,4-hydroquinone were studied in chlorobenzene at 298.2 K. The reaction was shown to follow a chain mechanism, the chain length being similar to10(2) units. The rate constants for the elementary reaction steps and the effective reaction orders with respect to the components were determined, and the chain lengths at various concentrations were calculated. A comparison of these data with those obtained earlier for a similar reaction between N-phenyl-1,4-benzoquinonemonoimine and 2,5-di-tert-butyl-1,4-hydroquinone led us to conclude that small changes in the nature of hydroquinone substituents strongly influenced the kinetic parameters of this new class of chain reactions.