Kinetic And Thermodynamic Studies Of Glucose Oxidase Catalysed Oxidation Reaction of Glucose

The kinetics of oxidation of D-glucose catalysed by the enzyme glucose oxidase has been studied over a wide range of experimental conditions. The reaction velocities increased with increase in the concentrations of the glucose oxidase and glucose, as well as increase in temperature and ionic strength of the solution. The reaction velocity initially increased with increase in pH, reaching a maximum at pH 6.5 and then decreased with further increase in pH. The reaction exhibited saturation kinetics and experimental data were analysed using the Michaelis- Menten equation. Arrhenius activation energy and thermodynamic activation parameters were measured and are reported. The large negative value of entropy of activation \u394S 60 , -148.8JK-1mol-1, and positive value of the enthalpy of activation \u394H 60 , 26.3kJmol-1, give further support to the proposed mechanism. The results are interpreted in terms of a mechanism involving both an oxidative half reaction and a reductive half reaction

Transesterification Reaction of Palm Kernel Oil (PKO) on a Bed of Crushed Cashew Nut Shell (CCNS)

Biodiesel (GA1) was produced by the transesterification reaction of palm kernel oil (PKO) and methanol catalysed by crushed cashew nut shaft. Biodiesel samples GA2 – GA4 were also produced from the palm kernel oil using conventional base catalysis by NaOH and crushed cashew nut shaft combined with NaOH. The physico-chemical properties and spectroscopic data of the four samples were found to be similar and compared favourably to those of standard biodiesel. Keywords: Transesterification, palm kernel oil, cashew nut shell, methanolysis, biodiesel

Synthesis and X-ray studies of ruthenium(II) complexes containing hydrazine and benzyl isocyanide ligands

The reaction of the polymeric species [{RuCl2(COD)}x] (1; x > 2; COD = cyclo-octa-1,5-diene) and hydrazine hydrate in methanol under reflux gave a pale pink solution from which the salt [Ru(COD)(N2H4)4][BPh4]2.CH3OH (2) was isolated on addition of NaBPh4. Treatment of 2 in refluxing acetone in the presence of the ligand benzyl isocyanide give a complex of stoichiometry [Ru(NH2N=CMe2)2(PhCH2NC)4][BPh4]2 (3) on the substitution of the labile COD ligand. The two compounds have been characterized by elemental analyses, IR and NMR measurements and single-crystal X-ray diffraction studies. The ruthenium in both compounds has a distorted octahedral coordination geometry. KEY WORDS: Cycloocta-1,5-diene, Hydrazine hydrate, Isocyanide, Ruthenium Bull. Chem. Soc. Ethiop. 2013, 27(3), 405-411.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/bcse.v27i3.