Kinetics and Mechanism of Selenium(IV) Oxidation by Aqueous Bromine Solution

The bromine-selenite reaction at strongly acidic conditions was investigated by monitoring the absorbance-time traces at the isosbestic point of the bromine-tribromide system at a constant ionic strength (0.5 M adjusted by sodium perchlorate) and temperature. Despite the simplicity of the stoichiometry, the kinetics was found to be very complex. Although the formal kinetic orders of the reactants bromine and selenite are strictly 1, that of the hydrogen ion varies from -2 to less than -3 and notably depends on the initial bromide concentration as well. The bromide ion also inhibits the reaction, making the whole system as a sound example of efficient autoinhibition. We have clearly shown that the inhibitory effect of the bromide ion cannot be explained quantitatively by either exclusively considering the unreactivity of the tribromide ion over elemental bromine or driving the reaction via hypobromous acid formed from the well-known hydrolysis of bromine in aqueous solutions. Instead of that, bromonium ion transfer initiating equilibrium is suggested between the selenium(IV) and bromine species to produce bromide ion and SeO3Br- followed by the hydrolysis of this short-lived intermediate. This hydrolytic transformation was found to be catalytic with respect to hydroxide and bromide ions as well. We have also demonstrated that, among the wide variety of selenium species present in the acidic aqueous solution, the best result can be obtained by considering HSeO3- as the kinetically active species toward bromine. The proposed mechanism containing 10 acid-base equilibria with known equilibrium constants, the above-mentioned initiating equilibrium, and the hydrolysis of SeO3Br- is able to fit all 49 kinetic absorbance-traces simultaneously, taking into account properly the most important characteristics of the measured data at strongly acidic conditions. Furthermore, this kinetic model was further extended by the direct reactions of hypobromous acid with selenium(IV) species suggested previously with reasonably modified rate coefficients to describe the pH dependence of the apparent second-order rate coefficients over the pH = 1-13 range, providing a useful tool to predict more accurately the kinetic behavior of selenium(IV) species in water treatment process conditions.

Automated summary

The bromine-selenite reaction was studied under strongly acidic conditions. The reaction kinetics was found to be complex, with the kinetic orders of the reactants bromine and selenite being 1 and that of the hydrogen ion varying from -2 to less than -3. The inhibitory effect of the bromide ion on the reaction could not be explained quantitatively, suggesting a different mechanism involving bromonium ion transfer and hydrolysis.