The reduction of hexanitrocobaltate(III) ion in the presence of hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide

The influence of cationic surfactant hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) on the kinetics of the spontaneous reduction of the analytically important compound, sodium hexanitrocobaltate(III), was studied. The spontaneous reduction was monitored spectrophotometrically at pH 2 and 5 and at concentrations of CTAB from 1 × 10 −5 to 5 × 10 −4 M. The mechanism of this process was described using two consecutive first-order reactions. A decrease in the rate constant for reduction at pH 5 in solutions containing CTAB in concentrations of 5.6 × 10 −5 M (critical micelle concentration) compared with its rate in an aqueous solution was observed. These effects could be explained by electrostatic and hydrophobic/hydrophilic interactions between the micellar pseudophase and the hexanitrocobaltate(III) ion.