Kinetics of the hydrolysis of thioacetamide in alkaline solution

Abstract

Kinetic studies of the hydroxide-catalysed hydrolysis of thioacetamide have shown that the reaction occurs by two parallel reaction paths. The rate constants of the overall reaction, the thioxo- and amino-group hydrolyses, have been determined in the temperature range 60–90° and the activation energies calculated. The relative importance of the two competitive reactions is influenced neither by temperature nor by variation in pH in the range 9.50–10.50. The mechanism of hydrolysis is discussed in the light of the mechanism proposed for amide.