The initial oxidative polymerization kinetics of 2,6-dimethylphenol with a Cu–EDTA complex in water

The initial oxidative polymerization kinetics of 2,6-dimethylphenol (DMP) catalyzed by a Cu(II)–EDTA complex in water was studied. The initial polymerization rate of DMP (R0) increases with an increase in concentrations of DMP and catalyst. R0 firstly increases with the molar ratio of N/Cu and then decreases. The reaction order with respect to oxygen is 0.1. R0 increases with NaOH concentration and reaches its maximum value at a concentration of 0.50 mol/L. 1/R0 is in direct proportion to 1/[DMP]0, which indicates that the initial polymerization kinetics of DMP in water obeys Michaelis–Menten model. The dissociation rate constant of the intermediate complex (k2) and Michaelis–Menten constant (Km) at various temperatures are calculated. It is found that both k2 and Km increase with an increase in temperature.