JCE Online Journal of Chemical Education
 | Subscriptions  | Software Orders  | Support  | Contributors  | Advertisers  | 

JCE Print
   Current Issue
 Previous Issues
 Supplements
 Search JCE Index

JCE Digital Library
   DigiDemos
 QBank
 SymMath
 WebWare

JCE Software
   Latest Releases
 Software & Video
 Downloads
 Support

Only@JCE Online
   JCE Online Store
 JCE HS CLIC
 JCE Discussion Forums
   Biographical Snapshots
 ChemEd Resource Shelf
 Featured Molecules
 Hal's Picks
 Project Chemlab
 Reviewed WWW Sites
 "Web-Ed" Articles

About JCE
   Features
 Publications
 Operations
 Outreach
 Contact Us


  Home > JCE Print > Journal of Chemical Education > Issues > 1999  > July  >
In the Laboratory
Kinetics of Methylene Blue Reduction by Ascorbic Acid
Sarah Mowry and Paul J. Ogren
Department of Chemistry, Earlham College, Richmond, IN 47374
Cover
July 1999
Vol. 76 No. 7
p. 970
Abstract
The redox reactions of methylene blue (MB+) often occur on a time scale of a few seconds to minutes. They may be followed visually for qualitative interpretations and spectrophotometrically for quantitative determinations. The experimental simplicity of MB+ reaction systems has also occasionally led to erroneous conclusions based upon oversimplified data treatment and assumptions. This paper compares spectrophotometric studies of MB+ reduction by ascorbic acid at low pH with previous conclusions based upon visual determinations of color loss. Spectrophotometric studies of the temporal decay of MB+ absorbance at 665 nm show that the reaction is first order in MB+, ascorbic acid, and HCl. A slower reaction occurs with only MB+ and ascorbic acid present. Regeneration of MB+ color by reaction with dissolved oxygen, the "blue bottle" reaction, is particularly significant when the reaction with ascorbic acid is slow. Methylene blue chemistry continues to provide a wealth of examples suitable for undergraduate kinetics studies.
More Information
*  Citation
 Mowry, Sarah; Ogren, Paul J. J. Chem. Educ. 1999 76 970.
*  Keywords
 Laboratory Instruction; Physical Chemistry; Kinetics; Redox Reactions; Solutions / Solvents; UV-Vis Spectroscopy
*  History
 Created:
Last Updated:		 June 9, 1999
June 23, 2005
<< Previous Article Table of Contents Next Article >>
  Home > JCE Print > Journal of Chemical Education > Issues > 1999 > July > Page 970


Subscriptions
 Subscription Info
 Order Forms

JCE HS CLIC

Our Secondary School editors work hard to distill all the JCE materials to produce a fraction of particular interest to high school teachers. We call it CLIC.
 JCE HS CLIC

Contributions Welcome
JCE welcomes your submission
 Contributors' Corner

Advertisers
In recent years we have worked hard to better match our advertisers with our readers. When shopping for chemistry education materials, visit our advertisers' WWW sites first.
 Recent Advertisers

Be An Ambassador
Take JCE along on your outreach missions. Copies of the Journal, guest access to JCE Online, our publications catalog, and more are available for your participants.
 Outreach with JCE

Comments to
jceonline@chem.wisc.edu		 Copyright © Division of Chemical Education, Inc., American Chemical Society.
All rights reserved.