Copper-catalyzed hydroquinone oxidation and associated redox cycling of copper under conditions typical of natural saline waters.

A detailed kinetic model has been developed to describe the oxidation of Cu(I) by O2 and the reduction of Cu(II) by 1,4-hydroquinone (H2Q) in the presence of O2 in 0.7 M NaCl solution over a pH range of 6.5-8.0. The reaction between Cu(I) and O2 is shown to be the most important pathway in the overall oxidation of Cu(I), with the rate constant for this oxidation process increasing with an increasing pH. In 0.7 M NaCl solutions, Cu(II) is capable of catalyzing the oxidation of H2Q in the presence of O2 with the monoanion, HQ(-), the kinetically active hydroquinone form, reducing Cu(II) with an intrinsic rate constant of (5.0 ± 0.4) × 10(7) M(-1) s(-1). Acting as a chain-propagating species, the deprotonated semiquinone radical (SQ(•) (-)) generated from both the one-electron oxidation of H2Q and the one-electron reduction of 1,4-benzoquinone (BQ) also reacts rapidly with Cu(II) and Cu(I), with the same rate constant of (2.0 ± 0.5) × 10(7) M(-1) s(-1). In addition to its role in reformation of Cu(II) via continuous oxidation of Cu(I), O2 rapidly removes SQ(•) (-), resulting in the generation of O2(•) (-). Agreement between half-cell reduction potentials of different redox couples provides confirmation of the veracity of the proposed model describing the interactions of copper and quinone species in circumneutral pH saline solutions.