Ruthenium(III) Catalyzed Oxidative Degradation of Amitriptyline-A Tricyclic Antidepressant Drug by Permanganate in Aqueous Acidic Medium

The oxidation of amitriptyline by potassium permanganate has been investigated spectrophotometrically in the presence of ruthenium(III) as catalyst in aqueous acidic medium at a constant ionic strength of 0.20 mol.dm(-3). The stoichiometry was found to be 1 : 1 in terms of the mole ratio of amitriptyline and permanganate ions consumed. The order of the reaction with respect to manganese(VII) and ruthenium(III) concentration was unity while the order with respect to amitriptyline was less than unity over the concentration range studied. The rate increased with an increase in acid concentration. The reaction rates revealed that the Ru(III) catalyzed reaction was about eight-fold faster than the uncatalyzed reaction. The oxidation products were identified by spectral analysis. A tentative mechanism consistent with the kinetics has been proposed. The reaction constants involved in the different steps of the reaction mechanism were calculated. Kinetic experiments suggest that HMnO4 is the reactive permanganate species and [Ru(H2O)(6)](3+) is the reactive Ru(III) species.