A chemiluminescence study of the kinetics of reactions of Cr(III) with carboxylate ligands: oxalate, salicylate, and humic acid
The reaction of Cr(III) with chelate-forming carboxylate ligands can be monitored at the low ligand concentrations typical of natural waters by chemiluminescence analysis of unreacted Cr(III). This technique is utilized here for the measurement of Cr(III) reaction kinetics with oxalate, salicylate, and humic acid over a wider ligand concentration range than previously reported. Variation of the pH and ligand concentrations allowd the determination of rates of reaction by three pathways with different pH dependencies. The magnitude of rate constants of these pathways for Cr(III) with inorganic (Cl−, SCN−) and carboxylate ligands gives insight into the reaction pathways for the environmentally important ligand humic acid. Keywords: Cr(III), oxalate, salicylate, humic acid.