Kinetic investigation of the reaction between propylene oxide and acetic acid

Abstract

The rate of the reaction between propylene oxide and acetic acid was found to be first order in propylene oxide concentration, while the partial reaction order for acetic acid varied with the composition of the reaction mixture between 2.0 and 2.6. Different alkali-metal acetate catalysts were investigated as well as the temperature dependence of the ‘non-catalysed’ and ‘catalysed’ reactions. Our results suggest that protonated propylene oxide formed in the pre-equilibrium and the hydrogen-bonded acetic acid–propylene oxide complex react with acetate ion or with acetic acid.