Sonication effect on the reaction of 4-bromo-1-methylbenzene with sodium sulfide in liquid-liquid multi-site phase-transfer catalysis condition - kinetic study.

The synthesis of di-p-tolylsulfane from the reaction of 4-bromo-1-methylbenzene (BMB) with sodium sulfide was carried out using a multi-site phase-transfer catalyst (MPTC) viz., 1,4-dihexyl-1,4-diazoniabicyclo[2.2.2]octanium dibromide and ultrasonic irradiation in a liquid-liquid reaction condition. The overall reaction rate is greatly enhanced when catalyzed by multi-site phase-transfer catalyst (MPTC) combined with sonication (40 kHz, 300 W) in a batch reactor than catalyzed by MPTC without sonication. Effects on the reaction due to various operating conditions, such as agitation speed, different ultrasound frequencies, different phase-transfer catalysts, different organic solvents, the amount of MPTC, temperature, amount of sodium sulfide, effect of sodium hydroxide, volume of n-hexane and the concentration of 4-bromo-1-methylbenzene. The reaction obeys a pseudo first-order rate law and a suitable mechanism was proposed based on the experimental observation.