Methylene Blue - Ascorbic Acid: An Undergraduate Experiment in Kinetics

Abstract

Clock reaction experiments with methylene blue (MB) and L-ascorbic acid (H2 A) were designed in aqueous sulfuric and hydrochloric acid media with a view to demonstrate and explain the concepts in chemical kinetics such as order of the reaction, effect of ionic strength, dielectric constant and temperature. On the basis of the obtained results, a plausible mechanism for the reduction of MB by H2 A has been proposed.