Kinetics Study of Copper (II), Nickel (II), Zinc (II) Catalytic Oxidation of Ornithine Hydrochloride by Alkaline Potassium Permanganate

The kinetics of Copper(II), Nickel(II) and Zinc(II) catalysed oxidation of Ornithine by Permanganate in alkaline medium at a constant ionic strength has been studied spectrophotometrically. The reaction between permanganate and ornithine in alkaline medium exhibits 2:1 stoichiometry (KMnO₄, Ornithine). The reaction shows first order dependence on the concentration of permanganate and each catalyst and less than unit order dependence on the concentration of ornithine and alkali. No effect of added products and dielectric constants has been observed. Investigation at different temperatures allowed the determination of the activation parameters with respect to slow step of the proposed mechanism. A mechanism involving the formation of a complex between catalyst and substrate has been proposed.