Common relationships of ferrocene oxidation with oxygen and sulfur dioxide in acid solutions and of its direct oxidation with carboxylic acids.

Mechanisms of ferrocene oxidation with molecular oxygen and sulfur dioxide in acid solutions and of its direct oxidation with carboxylic acids were suggested on the basis of kinetic and thermodynamic analysis of the published data. All the mechanisms are based on a common proposition: The species reacting with an oxidant is the protonated ferrocene molecule acting as a donor of atomic hydrogen, which is favored by the low energy of the Fe-H bond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]