Studies of the reaction of the hydroxyl radical with the oxalate ion in an acidic aqueous solution by pulse radiolysis

Abstract

The reaction of the · OH radical with the oxalate ion in an acidic aqueous solution was studied by pulse radiolysis. The rate constant for the reaction of formation of the radical HOOC-COO·(λ_max = 250 nm, ɛ = 1800 L mol⁻¹ cm⁻¹) is (5.0±0.5)·107 L mol⁻¹ s⁻¹. In the reaction with the hydrogen ion (k = 1.1·10⁷ L mol⁻¹ s⁻¹), the radical HOOC-COO· is transformed into a nonidentified radical designated arbitrarily as H⁺(HOOC-COO)· (λ_max = 260 nm, ɛ = 4000 L mol⁻¹ cm⁻¹).