The Autoxidation of Hydrazobenzene

The autoxidation of hydrazobenzene has been studied in methanol from 30-45°C. The reaction in neutral solution was found to be one-half-order with respect to hydrazobenzene and three-halves-order with respect to oxygen. The energy of activation was found to he 13 ± 1 kcal/mole and the entropy of activation was found to be -34.5 ± 2.5 e.u. The kinetics of the base-catalyzed and the ferrous-catalyzed autoxidations ware also studied. The effects of certain autoxidation inhibitors were investigated. These results are compared with other kinetic studies of oxidations of hydrazobenzene to azobenzene. Possible mechanistic courses of the autoxidation are considered on the basis of this kinetic and extrakinetic evidence.