Kinetics and mechanism of oxidative hydrolysis of choline chloride by aqueous alkaline permanganate

The reaction between permanganate and choline chloride (Ch-Cl) in alkaline medium exhibits 4:1 stoichiometry (KMnO4: choline chloride). The reaction shows first order dependence of the rate on permanganate concentration and less than a unit order dependence each in choline chloride and alkali concentration. The reaction rate decreases with an increase in ionic strength. Initial addition of reaction products did not affect the rate significantly. A mechanism involving the formation of an intermediate complex between alkaline species of permanganate and substrate has been proposed. The rate constants and activation parameters for the slow step of the mechanism have been evaluated and discussed.